Drops of Jupiter
by Unlaced
Summary: Hope hits adulthood and Lightning lets him move in with her so he can attend university in Bodhum. A kid now turned man, the lines of friendship begin to blur in ways she's not sure she's comfortable with. "You're mine. Get used to it." Lightning/Hope.
1. Back in the Atmosphere

**Chapter I**

_Back in the Atmosphere_

* * *

"Ever thought of getting a roommate?" She wouldn't stop and it made Lightning roll her eyes, keeping her back to her as she pulled open the fridge; the light pouring out of it. "I just don't like the idea of you living here all by yourself - I mean, you don't even want to move in with Snow and I."

When time flies and as people grow in age, sometimes, just sometimes, they find someone to commit to and settle down with. In Serah's case, she chose the most dimwitted of suitors to make that commitment to, and that was Snow. Their marriage ceremony quickly followed after their triumph and awakening from crystal stasis. Sahz attended, followed by the short little Dajh with the chocobo flying in and out of his hair, along with Hope, and Snow's friends from N.O.R.A. after reuniting with them.

And when people tie the knot, the most natural and expected thing to do was to move out on their own, leaving Lightning to her own devices in the house their parents left them.

Of course, two years later they decided it would be a good idea to make Lightning an aunt. She was surprised it took two years, however; she expected Snow to knock up her baby sister after a month or two, in which she would be obligated to break his jaw for copulating with Serah. Serah gave birth to a bouncing little boy, cursed with Snow's spiky blonde hair but blessed with Serah's eyes; Cloud.

Lightning liked him. Not because he was her flesh and blood, too, but he was a quiet baby. And didn't throw up on her.

"Don't get me wrong," Lightning began with a grumble, reaching to retrieve a frosted wine cooler from the depths of her refrigerator. "I miss you. But not enough to move _in_ with you."

It was no secret that Lightning was the first opposer of Serah and Snow's relationship when it all began, but the moron _did_ grow on her. She knew he loved Serah and that was enough for her.

But she never ceased to remind him that if he, by any chance, broke her heart or had her shed a tear because of him, she would break more than his face.

Still, she couldn't tolerate him enough to _live_ with him. She would make Serah a widow and Cloud fatherless after a week.

She turned around and met Serah's pouting face as she bounced Cloud on her knee, and he occasionally let out the high-pitched giggle as he played with a toy. "Besides, I'm fine." Lightning liked her privacy more than anything, even if a sense of loneliness did overcome her every time she returned home from work. She would always be greeted to an empty house; no light, and everything remained untouched, pooling particles of dust.

Popping the cap off her bottle, the soldier approached the nearest stool and settled down comfortably. "And I don't like anyone enough to share this house with them, anyway. You sure can beat a dead horse good, Serah."

A soft sigh fled her lips. Serah picked her toddler from her knee and sat him on the kitchen floor, where he excitedly tried to clumsily stand on his own two feet and scamper around. "I just worry about you, okay?" Her eyes tried to narrow into a glare at her sister, but she knew Lightning wouldn't take her seriously - her sister often told her she was as intimidating as a kitten. "You're usually at work. Don't you get tired of that monotonous schedule of yours?"

"Nope," she responded simply, taking a sip of her drink.

Getting back into "that monotonous schedule" of hers wasn't a bad thing - settling back into what she considered normalcy was almost refreshing. There were no behemoths to slaughter, or a fal'Cie to work a sweat up against. It was back to patrol and giving out orders to younger soldiers. Sahz and Dajh went back to their own, living close by with their chocobo that had grown ten times the size from when she originally met it. Sometimes, they would go out for coffee and catch up. Other times, Sahz would beg Lightning to baby sit his boy if Serah wasn't available.

Sadly, it was always hard to say no. Sahz was just lucky he had a respectable and obedient son that seemed too intimidated by her to ever misbehave.

Hope, on the other hand, was not within the Bodhum vicinity anymore. She had returned him personally to Palumpolum, where he was reunited with his father. The only part that she found when it came returning to the regular flow of normalcy was the lack of someone almost literally attached to her side - during the whole fiasco, Hope followed her like a loyal pup; not as strong as a dog, but still with a protective streak and a clumsy walk.

The boy she had become so fond of had to return to his own set of normalcy - school, socializing with others his age, and graduation. They had kept in touch as much as their schedules allowed. Sometimes, she would miss a phone call because she was still on shift, and then sometimes, he would miss her phone call because he was still occupied with something pertaining class. Visits were few in between, but Lightning could swear that every time she saw him, he was a few inches taller, his hair a few centimeters longer, and his voice a few tones deeper.

That little boy she protected wasn't a little boy anymore, and she had to secretly admit that she was more than proud of him.

"Well, I better get going. Snow should be coming home soon." Lightning only frowned, struggling to hide her obvious disappointment. Serah's smile was sheepish and she leaned over to embrace her older sister, giving her multiple kisses against her cheek. "Come by sometime for dinner; I know for a _fact_ you don't cook for yourself."

Lightning's intelligent response was a snort. The wine cooler was set on the table so she could return her sibling's hug.

"Cloud, baby," Serah called out once she recoiled from Lightning. Cloud was trying to open the fridge, but he it seemed like he did not inherit his father's gargantuan muscles and impressive strength. Instead he opted to stand there, whining softly, while his mother sauntered over with a high giggle and scooped him up into her arms. "Say buh-bye to Auntie Claire?"

Lightning twitched.

Serah held her toddler over to her. "Don't give me that look. You know how hard it is for him to say Lightning."

"Teach him to overcome verbal obstacles at an early age. It builds character." The look she was giving her was still dirty, but she gladly accepted Cloud into her arms. "You can say it, right? Can you say _Light_?"

"Nu," was his response. That was Cloud's rendition of the simple word, "no."

"See?" Serah's smile grew.

Lightning grunted. Cloud's eyes grew cross-eyed as his aunt reached up and pinched his nose gently, pressed her lips against his temple, and then handed him back over to his mother. "Whatever. I'll see you later."

"I'll tell Snow you said hi!"

"…but I didn't."

Serah completely neglected that fact and left the house, Cloud attached to her hip and waving his little fingers at Lightning's direction as they walked away. Lightning rolled her eyes and her sigh came out exasperated, and she was glad Serah decided to leave before she saw the little smile her lips decided to make; she would never let her live it down.

Once she heard the closing of the door, the emptiness of the house felt like it rung loud in her ears. Cloud's giggling and random tampering of things was gone, along with the tinkle of bells that was Serah's voice. Her fingers reached over for the wine cooler again, her eyes misted over in contemplation, until she felt something vibrate in her pocket and the soft, muffled music of her phone.

Her brows furrowed together in battle and she fished the device from the depths of her pocket, flipping it open to see a name.

Hope's name flashed on the screen in fluorescent text. She pressed one of the buttons and then held it against her ear.

"Hello?"

* * *

"See? I _knew_ a roommate wouldn't be a bad idea!" Serah was babbling on excitedly while she was holding Cloud, and Lightning and Snow decided to put their physiques to use and remove all the old boxes and furniture out of Serah's old bedroom. She had left them there after the wedding due to lack of space, but after finding out about the news, Serah was more than happy to drag Snow over and have him help her sister empty the bedroom out. "You'll have someone who'll make sure you eat dinner, too. Honestly, calling you every night to make sure you do gets tiresome."

"Never asked you to," Lightning grunted irritably and slid a box out. Serah seemed a lot more excited about the entire thing than she was. Lightning was excited in her own right, but she did not express it by blubbering around the living room like a hyper rabbit. Honestly, it wasn't _that_ big of a deal.

Snow finished taping up the rest of the boxes and he scooped two of them up in his large arms, parading out of the now mostly-empty room. "Hope going to college, though," he piped up thoughtfully. "Never thought I'd see the day. Time sure as hell passes by, don't it? I'm surprised you didn't whoop him into shape in being the dog of the military, sis."

Four years ago, Lightning would have slammed her weapon against his skull at the nickname. He was always persistent in calling her "sis," however, and she slowly succumbed to the label, even if the urge to act violently towards him continued to boil faintly.

"I can't see him in the military, no way." Serah shook her head. "He's too…I don't know, gentle, I guess, for something like that."

Lightning's verdict was an agreement in silence. Hope didn't have the personality to become a soldier like she did, and she was more than grateful for that fact. Becoming a soldier was definitely not her dream career, but it was the one salvation that gave her and Serah an opportunity to get back on their feet after the passing of their parents.

"You wouldn't guess from looking at him, either. He used to be _shrimpy_."

"It's called puberty, Snow," was Lightning's response, edged in sarcasm.

Serah intervened before they started flinging words at each other. "Need anything else? We can fit all this stuff back in our garage, for sure!"

Lightning shook her head and wiped off the musty dust on the pair of cargo pants clinging to her legs. "Mmm, no. I just have to do groceries for his little welcoming gathering. Snow and Sahz eat like _beasts_."

"Do not!" Snow shot defensively. "I'm a growing boy, mind you."

"Snow, you're my age. You stopped aging _years_ ago." Lightning paused and rolled her eyes. "Physically, at least. Your mentality remains of a twelve year old."

Serah decided to intervene again and sighed, pouting at both of them. "Be nice, you two."

"_I'm_ nice," Snow grumbled, submitting at Serah's quiet demand of not getting into an argument. He picked up his little boy from his wife's arms and situated him on his shoulders. "See, Cloud? See Auntie Light, there? She's _mean_, isn't she?"

His wife gasped as if she was directly offended and smacked Snow's arm, but it was more of a tickle for Snow. He couldn't help but laugh and Lightning restrained herself from saluting him with the middle finger - Cloud had to be at least seven before she could ever do that around him. The child, for the most part, looked confused and amused himself with tugging at his father's black beanie.

Eventually Snow had to load all the boxes they had taped up and gathered into their vehicle, and that was something Lightning didn't feel like helping him with. Her and Serah watched him from the doorway, engaging themselves in small talk.

"I think this'll be good for you, Claire." That name was only used in private, and only by Serah. She smiled up warmly at her older sister, who remained still with crossed arms and pretended to be interested in the way Snow would occasionally trip over himself. "Snow always told me about how close Hope got to you, and the times he's visited, he looks up to you like crazy. Like you're his older sister, too."

Lightning's shoulders shrugged.

Serah clicked her tongue thoughtfully, her gentle smile changing into a rare smirk. "Or…" she began, stopping herself before she said anything. This earned an odd glance from Lightning, whose light eyebrow raised warily at the face her sister was making. Serah's giggle filled her ears and she shook her head. "Nevermind."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Lightning wasn't stupid. "It doesn't sound like nothing, Serah."

Serah shook her head again. "Don't worry about it, 'kay?" She couldn't help but lightly laugh at Lightning's frown and she hugged her concerned sibling. "I'll come by early and help you cook and set things up, alright? We'll give Hope a good welcoming party. Make him feel like he's at home, you know?"

Whatever went through Serah's head was a complete mystery to Lightning - her sister was odd in so many ways, besides her choice for a life-long companion. The way she chuckled and the smiles and secret smirks her lips formed didn't bode well with her. It downright almost worried her, especially with the fact that she was making herself exceptionally hard to read.

She didn't like surprises. Most importantly, she hated Serah's surprises. It went from being marked by a fal'Cie, to her engagement to Snow, to becoming pregnant by Snow's genetic seed, to accidentally breaking her blender, etcetera. So whatever she was mischievously keeping to herself, Lightning was rest assured that it was probably not a good thing.

Serah and her new family eventually left, and Lightning returned to her empty home that would soon contain one extra person. She entered her immaculate kitchen - immaculate simply because it was hardly ever utilized - and approached the white refrigerator. Pictures were held onto the surface by the power of magnets; pictures of Cloud throughout the years, Serah and Snow, Sahz and his son, and even the chocobo - and Hope, on his visits to Bodhum. Hope's pictures were the only ones not posed for - Serah had a habit of catching him off guard with a camera, so most of his faces were utterly silly and a smile Lightning couldn't fight off crept on her face.

If there was one other person she absolutely, positively, _had_ to share her personal home with, it would be no one better than Hope. She had a surprisingly deep well of patience for the boy that had just recently become a man.

"See you tomorrow, kid."


	2. Like Summer and Rain

**Chapter II**

_Like Summer and Rain_

_

* * *

  
_

Hope wasn't sure what to expect when he stepped foot in Lightning's home, his father in tow behind him. He knew very well she wasn't a party thrower - she was often the wallflower in social gatherings, just like he was. But when he was greeted by familiar faces and elated smiles that had gathered just to greet him, he wished he wasn't the type to get flustered easily, because he could feel familiar heat pooling in his cheeks and tinting them rouge.

He was bombarded by the large and ever-loud Snow, who still had the ability to knock the air out of him by just patting his back. It was all becoming a blur when a small Serah approached with an even smaller person he had seen only two times before with his cheeky smile and his two front teeth that had just grown in. Then there was Sahz and Dajh, and some friends of Snow who he had met, and it was all becoming a bit overwhelming until he heard someone familiar clear her throat and say; "Give the kid some air, okay?"

He these days looked _nothing_ like a kid and they all knew that, but old habits died hard, and the label of 'kid' had always been stuck on him because of Lightning. He was no where near Snow's intimidating height, but he stilled towered fairly high with a cap of pale-white hair on his head that had lengthened throughout the years. His lankiness evolved into lean and modest muscle - nothing bulging like Snow's bestial physique, but he was still entirely firm.

Lightning's familiar voice earned him wave of relief when everyone gave Hope room to breathe, and they cleared away just so he could see the soldier lean against her kitchen counter, arms crossed over her chest. He was often used to seeing her in her work uniform, so the casual clothing she was wearing seemed odd to him in a non-disappointing way - pants that hung loosely and seemed all too big on her, in contrast with a highly form-fitting, sleeveless top.

"Sorry, sis," Snow replied with a goofy grin and reached over, giving Hope an affectionate hair ruffle. Hope's response with a disgruntled sound and a small glare that Snow casually neglected. "Just having a giant nostalgia trip, y'know?"

"Nostalgia trips _almost_ right," Sahz contributed, his hand on his son's shoulder. His vague reference was towards the two Pulsian women that were currently absent, and they all knew that chances are, they would forever _be_ absent. No reunion would ever be complete as long as they were gone, but no one ever spoke about it directly. "But, man, Hope. You takin' steroids, or something?"

Hope huffed. "Of _course _not. Can't expect me to stay a kid forever, guys." That was his current aggravation in life - everyone was still used to the idea of him being an adolescent boy that was too jarred and jumbled to make coherent decisions, not an eighteen-year-old adult accepted at a university,

In between the fussing and the laughs and the jokes at each other, Lightning was the one that followed Bartholomew outside and to his vehicle to help him bring Hope's belongings inside.

"I can't thank you enough for this, Lightning," the man told her, genuine gratitude flooding his voice. The laughter was somewhat distant behind closed doors, and the sounds of chirping crickets rang loudly throughout the night. He opened the doors and started taking bags out with Lightning's help. "If there's anyone I know he'd be safe with, it's you."

"He's all grown up. There's not much to keep him safe from anymore." There were no monsters or beasts to fight. "It's…nice to have someone around again, though. I guess."

A smile grew on Bartholomew's face. "It's true. Can't say I won't miss him, but he's…excited. He's missed everyone here." After everything of Hope's was emptied, he locked up again, and both of them started picking up his belongings. "Especially you. Not a day went by when he didn't mention you in passing. You've made quite the impression on him, even after all this time."

Before she could formulate a response, the door of the house opened and the voices inside were now clearly heard, intermingled and incoherent with one another's. Hope stepped out sheepishly, followed by the poking of Serah's head. "Sorry about that--they're distracting."

"Forgiven," his father said. "Can't blame them for being excited to see you."

Hope jogged over to Lightning and tried to pull his luggage from her. She was stubborn, though, and kept the items at a distance with a curious raise of a delicate eyebrow and a tilt of her head. "I can carry this just fine."

"So?" Hope snorted. "You're the hostess. You shouldn't have to."

He was glaring at her stubbornly. She was becoming more aware of his alarming height - she was often used to looking down _at_ him, not _up_, but his boyish features were still in tact and she found it difficult to take his stare seriously. Lightning rolled her eyes and shoved against him playfully, and he could see the smirk she wore as plain as day, despite the darkness of the outside. "Get over it," was what she told him and she proudly sauntered inside, where Serah giggled and Hope watched her with a slightly open mouth.

"While you're feeling generous…" Hope didn't even have time to look over to his father - his arms suddenly became full of luggage.

Hope's response was sour. "Thanks."

His father let out a laugh, patted his son's back, and both of them went back inside to enjoy Hope's little welcoming committee.

* * *

When the night's end reared its' head, it was Snow and Serah that were the the first to leave. It was past Cloud's bedtime and the toddler was becoming whiny and restless; all he wanted to do was cuddle into his comfy crib and snooze. On their departure Serah kissed Hope's cheek and hugged him tightly, telling him to keep an eye on her big sister - if there was one thing Lightning definitely did not excel at was taking care of herself. Their exchange was sneaky and quiet, away from everyone else's ears, so Hope eagerly agreed to comply with Serah's wishes. He said goodbye to the sleepy Cloud, and Snow punched his arm playfully before leaving. Everyone else followed behind closely, and Sahz and Dajh were the last of the guests to leave.

When it was just down to Lightning, Hope, and Bartholomew, the aging man glanced at his wrist watch, and both of them watched a melancholy smile etch his features.

"Guess it's time to leave, kids. It's getting late."

Hope instantly frowned. "You're not spending at least the night?" His voice was filled with quiet concern. "It's--it's a long drive, dad."

"Hope's right," Lightning contributed, placing the rest of the dirty dishes into a pile in the sink. "I recommend you stay for the night. It's not a bother."

Bartholomew, however, shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but I did promise to be at work for an important meeting tomorrow. I'll be alright."

Hope still didn't like it and it showed, but his father was resolute. Bartholomew approached his grown son and squeezed his shoulder, smirking. "It's going to be okay. I'll call you whenever I arrive." Hope's response was a reluctant nod. "I expect you to send me updates, too. No slacking off." His voice took a stern turn but it lacked seriousness. He knew Hope wouldn't disappoint him - he was a good student.

"I'm gonna miss you." His voice became a quiet whisper and he embraced his father for several moments. Lightning acted like a shadow; unmoving and watching in silence. She felt awkward, almost, witnessing this moment between father and son - it made her look away. It felt like too much of a private moment for her to be watching this, but neither of them seemed to mind to portray this sort of affection in her presence.

Bartholomew eventually released his son, and Hope and Lightning escorted him out to his vehicle; the darkness of the sky still present, except for the tiny glows of distant stars. Before entering his vehicle he turned, gave his son one last embrace, and then shook Lightning's hand firmly.

"My son's in good hands," he told her, completely assured.

Lightning returned the gesture hesitantly with a firm grip. "I'll take care of him. I promise."

Both of them stayed side by side, watching him enter his vehicle, wave at them and drive off. Lightning didn't see his face but she could already imagine it - his green eyes glistening in tears that threatened to spill, but he remained quiet. Hope had always been sensitive, but his sensitivity became mostly retained as the years passed. He had toughened up, but she couldn't blame the sadness he felt from being away from his father - especially when she knew Bartholomew was the only parent he had left.

Her hand slid against his back and moved it in circular, ginger motions. They could no longer see his father's vehicle. "Let's get inside. I'll help you get your stuff in."

He responded with a slow nod. She gently led him back inside and closed the door behind her, and the once immaculate kitchen was tarnished with the evidence of use. Dishes adorned the sink and the trash was almost overflowing.

"…I think I should help you clean," Hope deduced as he observed the damage.

Lightning didn't seem all that bothered. Once she approached her sink, she turned the faucet on and dressed the sponge with dish soap. "You gonna be okay?" Her question involved no eye contact.

"What?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

Hope's shoulders rolled into a shrug. "It's not that big of a deal." Lightning shot him a skeptical look and he glowered at her defensively. "What? I'll miss him, I will. But it's not like I'm never going to see him again, right? It's just college." He stood next to her, playfully pushing her to the side with his body to make room - he wasn't letting her clean the mess by herself. "Are _you_ going to be okay?"

"I don't understand your question."

"Serah moved out awhile ago. Aren't you used to living by yourself?"

"I could go either way."

"Well, I know she's been trying to get you to move in with her and Snow." That mental image amused him to no end, because he could clearly see the violence she would not hesitate to inflict on her sister's husband. Lightning wrinkled her nose at the mention of Serah's attempt. "Or at least find you a roommate."

"I don't like anyone else enough to live with them."

Hope's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he gave her a teasing grin, jabbing her with his elbow softly. "Should I feel special?"

Lightning's scrubbing paused. The look she was giving Hope was menacing, and she heard him gulp. "Don't push it."

"Roger."

After several seconds, neither of them could keep a straight face. Hope laughed and Lightning actually cracked a smile.

With Hope's help, cleaning the kitchen and reverting it back to its spotless state didn't take as long as she thought it would. She still insisted that he go and unpack, but Hope wouldn't have it and simply ignored her demands. Once they were done, she turned off the lights and followed him to his new room.

"It's Serah's old bed," she clarified and unwillingly winced. "I…tried to paint over the flowers on the frame. It still kind of shows, but not so much. Serah went through an artistic phase growing up, if you couldn't tell."

The room was void of any sort of personal touch. All it contained were essentials; a single bed, a glass and metal desk, a tall and black dresser, and an empty closet.

Hope couldn't help but smile. "It's great, Light. Thanks. Even with the flowers." It was already late and he had decided to save his packing for tomorrow.

"Go to bed." Her hand pushed him into the bedroom lightly. "I took work off tomorrow to take you to registration, and then I can help you unpack. Sound good?"

Hope stumbled only once, but he sharply turned on his heel and pooled the soldier into a tight embrace. Lightning was caught off guard and her face met his chest. _That_ was something she wasn't quite used to - she was used to _her_ being the taller one, and often pressing a kiss against the top of his head. But in order to do that, she had to literally stand on a stool.

"Thank you so much," he repeated into the whorls of her loose hair. He felt her arms reluctantly encircle him and return the squeeze. "And I promise I won't be too much of a pain in the ass, okay?"

Lightning's reply was a muffled snort. They pulled back only slightly, just to give her the luxurious convenience to narrow her eyes up at him. "You're not. If I didn't want you to stay with me, I would have directed you to one of the others. They would have accepted you just as eagerly as I did."

"I don't think I'd be able to live with Snow."

"…and that makes both of us. I don't know how Serah does it."


	3. There's A Time to Change

**Chapter III**

_There's A Time to Change_

_

* * *

_

"Nervous?"

Hope trailed behind her as he nervously scanned over his schedule and curriculum, gulping quietly. They had just registered him at the university - he was still undecided, so he settled in starting with his core classes before coming into a final decision on a career path. Lightning assured him that there was no pressure and that it was normal for people his age to have no idea what the hell they want to do with their life, but that didn't convince him much.

His response didn't come, not even when she opened the door and they returned to the house. Artificial lighting was unneeded; the windows were large enough to let the sun's rays filter through, offering the large home natural sunshine.

His silence was enough. She opened the fridge and stood in front of it for several seconds, scanning through the contents with her eyes. She never did much grocery shopping, but with Hope now residing with her, she made sure to keep both the fridge and the cabinets stuffed with edibles. "You hungry?"

"I'm fine."

"You're nervous," Lightning concluded and shut the door to the fridge.

"I guess."

"It won't be a big deal, Hope."

"Did _you_ go to college?"

He had her there. It was a few seconds before she spoke. "No," she replied honestly. "Does it matter?"

Hope inhaled deeply and slumped into a chair. "Guess not."

His attitude bothered her. Zipping across the kitchen, she situated herself next to him and two fingers found themselves under his head. "Chin up, okay? You'll do _fine._ Now, let's just get you unpacked."

There was very little room to argue with her. She seemed to have too much confidence in him; much more than he was comfortable with. He knew she just wanted his compliance right now so he nodded obediently and followed her into his new bedroom, his personal belongings still packed away.

Hope was a light packer and it took Lightning a few moments as to realize why he didn't have much. She almost expected him to bring the contents of his entire bedroom to Bodhum when she realized that this living situation wasn't even _permanent_. He would be traveling between Bodhum and Palempolum more often now to visit his father, and then come back to attend classes, so of course he would need to keep half of his stuff back there. His bags and boxes involved mostly clothes and things of necessities, and a few important personal items.

One, of course, was a picture that was a blast from the past.

"Oh--I was wondering where I packed that." He noticed the picture frame her fingers delicately clutched. Without even seeing what the frame held, he knew already what the picture was - a picture of his mother, with the same white hair and the same eyes that he had, standing next to her husband with a young and short Hope nestled between them. "Glad you found it, actually."

Lightning snapped her attention away from the family photo and blinked up at Hope. He was smiling sheepishly, almost as if he was embarrassed.

"Can't go anywhere without that, obviously." She handed him the picture frame and he positioned it perfectly next to his bed - it would be one of the first things he saw when he would wake up. His mother's smiling face, the twinkle of his father's eyes, and the young face he grew out of. "It's silly, I know."

"It's not."

She was greeted with silence. Hope was on his knees, in front of the little night stand that held up the lonely picture frame. Quietly, she crawled behind him and rested her chin on his shoulder, peeking over. "I've got one too, actually."

"Of your parents?"

"Mmhm." Her arms coiled around him from behind and she felt him relax against her. "For awhile, I didn't even have the guts to have it out in the open. Kept my family photo away from sight - it was too hard to look at." Her voice reached barely above a whisper, but that posed no problem - her lips were close to his ear. "That was just my way of coping…or, just escaping, really. You've got more guts than I do."

Something like that coming from her was just bizarre. "Do you still keep it hidden?"

"Not so much anymore." He felt her pull away when he didn't want her to, but her hands lingered on his shoulders. "Seeing it is still hard, but…it gets easier."

A frown crept on his face when she pulled away completely, but it was something he made sure she didn't notice. Both of them rose to their feet, stretching their cramped legs.

"You sure you're not hungry?" Lightning inquired suspiciously. "I've got a lot of food, and I need someone to eat it."

"Yeah, I'm surprised to see so much food in here, actually. Your cupboards are usually bare."

Her eyes rolled at him. "Can't let you starve, can I? Whatever, I'm making you something to eat."

She seemed decided and he wasn't about to argue. He saluted her mockingly and straightened his posture. "Yes, ma'am, sergeant, ma'am."

"Don't get smart with me."

"I'm not."

"You _are._"

"Nooo…"

"You're beginning to get on my nerves, Hope."

Hope was probably one of the two people alive and breathing that could grate on Lightning's nerves, but not end on the wrong path of her dangerous fist. He could bug her and flare her temper but she never, ever laid a hand on him - maybe pinched his arm and slapped his head gently, but he was never in the position Snow was; often flat on his ass with a loose tooth.

Their afternoon was filled with a pleasant little conversation and the aroma of herbs and flavorful food cooking over the stove. It had been awhile since she put the kitchen to good use, minus his small welcoming party the previous night - she always used to cook for Serah growing up, until Serah took over kitchen duty once Lightning started working infinite hours to support them. But having someone else in the kitchen was nice, and she didn't even realize how easy it was to smile around Hope. Whether it was a dumb look he had, or something he said - smiling was almost a natural reflex.

He even stopped being idle on a chair and began helping her by doing simple things; stirring something for her, cutting something up. He definitely didn't want to feel useless, especially when it came to Lightning.

"Are you going to keep working those crazy hours?" Hope popped a baby carrot into his mouth, chewing it up before continuing. "Serah keeps telling me that's all you _do._"

"I'm getting kind of curious on how often you and my sister discuss things." Lightning took over the slicing and dicing duties - the swift movements of using sharp objects came to her naturally.

"Usually whenever I get in contact with Snow." Hope shrugged nonchalantly. Four years ago exactly, he never would have thought he would _ever_ be on good terms with Snow. Even after everything was said and done, it took a bit of work for them to be on good terms, and Hope would always turn to Serah and Snow whenever he couldn't get a hold of Lightning. "She can be a little talkative sometimes," he chuckled and then lowered his head sadly. "Kind of reminds me of…Vanille, you know? Much more mellow, but…"

His head snapped up when he heard a hiss and the metallic clank of the knife meeting the linoleum tile. "Crap--Light?! You okay?!"

"Just a cut," she answered quickly and sucked on her finger. The utterance of Vanille's name caught her off guard - she could still remember her bouncing ginger curls, her peculiar accent, her cheery smile, and the annoying way she would skip and prance without a care in the world.

The memory of her and the raven-haired tribeswoman still gave them all an indescribable ache. They were _all_ supposed to come out of this together. They weren't dead, but it felt as if they might as well be.

"I'm sorry!" Hope blurted out, his eyes glazed over in concern. "Let me see?"

"It's just a cut, Hope."

She had gone through worse and so did he when he rationalized it - but he simply ignored her statement and pulled her finger closer for examination. "It's…still weird talking about them, isn't it?"

Her finger was alright, but even when he witnessed it, he still didn't let it go. Fortunately her finger was still attached to her hand, but he could see the small amount of blood beginning to seep out of the diminutive slice.

Lightning mumbled. "Yeah. It…still is."

Hope wordlessly turned the faucet on and lowered her finger to the mild gushing water.

"_Hope._"

"There's nothing wrong with cleaning it," he said calmly. "Got some band aids anywhere?"

"Unnecessary."

"If you start touching herbs or something citrus, it's going to hurt, Light, and it's going to be more annoying than anything." He had a point. She didn't like it when he had a point. "Stay here, okay? I bet Serah makes you keep a first aid kit in the bathroom."

He completely ignored the aggravated sigh she wasn't shy to let him hear. Finding the first aid kit was easy, and he just pulled a single band aid from the box and returned almost cheerfully. It made Lightning scowl. He peeled it open and gingerly wrapped it around her finger.

"See? Not so bad."

Lightning grunted in response. "Happy?"

"Yep."

"Well, good," was Lightning's genius response. She tried to sound irritated but ultimately failed and Hope couldn't hold his laughter in.

* * *

University didn't start until several days after registration, and when the day classes began finally dawned, Lightning made sure Hope was well-prepared. He didn't seem as anxious as he was before and hitched a ride Yuj to campus. Rationally, she knew Hope would be alright and that there was nothing to worry about, but Lightning found herself checking her cell phone periodically during work just in case she somehow, someway, missed a call from him.

There was never a missed call or the smallest vibrates of her phone. She was almost tempted to call him herself, curious on how his first day went, but then she figured that would seem utterly ridiculous. He would be _fine,_ she assured herself mentally. He was a grown man now. Not a little boy that needed to be watched constantly.

"Aren't you a little tense, hn?" A voice; deep and husky. Quiet, but still loud enough to register in her ears clearly. Lightning kept her back to the newcomer, arms folded across her chest, and her blue eyes slanted into a glare. "You've been checking your watch and phone almost compulsively, Farron. Hot date?"

Distraction was the reason her senses didn't register his presence. Otherwise, she would have introduced him to her 21st birthday present. "Stalking is never a good thing."

"Just observant, Sergeant." His chuckling aggravated her. "Although, I have been looking for you, honestly. You're rather avoidant, unless you're stressed and need an outlet."

A faint inkling of a shudder ran through her spine. "So?"

"In all honestly, I feel kind of used."

He wasn't serious, she knew. She heard his boots beat against the tiles and approach closer, closer - too close for comfort - and it took her a split second to turn around sharply and point the one thing she knew never failed her: her gunblade.

"Your point?" Lightning responded dryly. Her weapon was perfectly position under his chin and she saw a face all too familiar; a man around her age, possibly a bit older, with dark features. His skin was lightly tanned and his hair was disheveled and dark. With a weapon in hand, he almost looked nervous. "The hell do you want, Ash?"

Ash let out a nervous chuckle and gave her a shit-eating grin. "I just wanted to cuddle."

Lightning, in any other case, would have called bullshit. "You _would._"

"Seriously, put that thing down, will you?" Ash plead. Lightning did the opposite and pressed the point against his skin as emphasis. "Okay, _fine._ Just not used to chicks not _wanting_ to cuddle, you know? You just get up and leave. Almost makes me sad."

"Inappropriate for the work place, much?"

"Pfft, inappropriate is also threatening a fellow sergeant without cause." A dark brow of his quirked and Lightning conceded by putting her weapon away. He had a valid point. "You know I'm just teasing, Farron."

"I'd rather you not," Lightning huffed and started to walk away from him at a quick pace.

Instead of taking the hint, he followed her.

"Recent word is that you've got a baby-sitting gig going on, eh?" Ash sneered. Lightning didn't respond. "You housing a college kid?"

"Your lips are moving. Sounds are coming out of it. That is never good."

He caught up so he would walk side-by-side, their eyes ahead of them. "Just curious. You're always so private, is all. You never even let me inside your house."

"There's a reason for that."

Music vibrated from her phone. Lightning quickly retrieved it from her pocket and flipped it open, and Ash decidedly welcomed himself to take a quick glimpse at her screen.

"Hope?"

"Piss off," was Lightning's aggravated retort. She answered her phone and swerved suddenly to a different direction in a small attempt to at _least_ lose track of the soldier hot on her heels. "Hey--Hope. I'll call you back in a bit, okay?"

Her attempt was futile. Ash was still following. "You've _got_ to introduce me sometime, Farron. Seriously."

_Only if hell froze over._


	4. She Listens Like Spring

**Chapter IV**

_She Listens Like Spring_

_

* * *

_

"Sorry," Hope apologized sheepishly. His cheeks were flushed and his metallic fork was poking shyly at a hard noodle congealed in an unhealthy orange cheese.

Lightning was sitting next to him trying to keep a straight face the entire time - and that was saying something. Lightning always had a straight face. It was always hard to break her frigid mask, but with the way Hope acted like a kicked puppy and the mess that was their "dinner" in a bowl in front of them both…she found it peculiarly difficult to not let out at least a chuckle.

"Don't worry about it." Lightning set her utensil down and rubbed his shoulder comfortably. Hope's head lowered, embarrassed, and he sighed. "No, really. It took Serah a few tries before she could master the craft of macaroni and cheese."

Hope groaned.

"It's the thought that counts?" She tried to lift his spirits, but he seemed all too disappointed with himself. She never expected him to try and make her dinner after she got off of work, so when she arrived and the aroma of melted cheese filled her nostrils, she was honestly surprised. He said that it was the least he could do, and that he was bored, and that she was the one working intense hours to pay the bills, so he insisted.

Except cooking was never Hope's forte.

"We can do take out?" It was silently decided that the unknown phenomenon known as their supper was not edible. She grabbed their bowls and scraped the contents into the garbage disposal. "Pizza sound good?"

Hope groaned again and smacked his forehead onto the counter.

Her pink lips quirked into a smirk. Upon passing him, she ruffled his hair and grabbed the phone book, flipping through it. "Once you're over yourself, let me know. I'm getting pineapple on it."

"Pineapple's good," was his muffled response.

During the time she placed the pizza order, Hope's forehead remained glued to the table. He wasn't overly depressed about it, but he did feel kind of silly. He made a mental note to get some lessons from Serah when she was free before ever even boiling water in Lightning's kitchen again - he never knew macaroni and cheese could ever end that badly. And the stupid box even had instructions.

After several passing moments he finally sat back up, his forehead blessed with a red mark.

"Over yourself?"

"Pretty much."

Hope gave her a grin and Lightning offered him a half-smile. "Did your professors bestow mercy and give you homework on your first day?" When she came home, asking how his first day went was her first priority - she was almost anxious to know his answer but was entirely unsure why. Part of her still had the instinctive protective streak, and it still wouldn't leave, not when he towered over her in height and was bigger than her in muscle. He spoke cheerfully, actually, realizing that he was just making a big deal over nothing. It didn't seem all that different from his previous years at school.

"Oh, god, no." Hope rolled his eyes. "It was just going over class basics for each professor. Then they let us go early."

Lightning clicked her tongue thoughtfully. "Calm before the storm. Heard the professors could work you pretty hard."

"Yeah, with papers. After that time we stayed in Gran Pulse, I feel like I can take on anything." He paused. "Or just made me realize there are worse things."

Well, that was a way to look at it optimistically. Hope continued chatting on about his classes - described his professors more in detail, the projects he knew that he had to do. The pizza arrived shortly and they hungrily opened the box, the heat of the sauce steaming into the air.

"Mmm, better than mac and cheese, definitely." Hope licked his lips and pulled apart the cheesy goodness.

"Better than your mac and cheese, if anything."

"Ouch, Light. That kind of hurt me deep."

Lightning was the type to use sarcasm as a form of playful affection - Hope was used to it. Hope had grown fond of it, actually; it was an interesting sort of entertainment, and it seemed to be a special thing shared between just the two of them.

"Oh, before I forget…" He pulled some of the melted cheese hanging off his pizza and quickly threw it into his mouth before it had the chance to sear his fingers. "Um, Yuj invited me out tomorrow night with some of the guys tomorrow night. Like Maqui. Is it okay if--…what's with the look?"

What was with the look indeed. Lightning simply stared at him as if he had grown two heads with the end of the pizza in her mouth.

"Do I have something on my face? Is it cheese?" Hope started wiping his mouth and groping his cheeks to make sure there was nothing.

She chewed the part of the pizza in her mouth quickly, swallowed, and shook her head. "No. Why are you asking my permission?"

He blinked. "Um," he said stupidly. "Because it's the right thing to do?" He almost didn't understand her question.

"Hope. How old are you?"

"…eighteen?"

"You sound hesitant. That's usually a bad thing." She rolled her eyes and snatched a napkin, dabbing her lips. "What I mean is, you're old enough to make your own decisions. I'm…" Lightning paused, choosing her words carefully. "I'm not your parent."

Despite the constant urge to make sure he was safe like a parent, she could never, ever fill those shoes. She saw herself more of a protector rather than a mother; aggressive and ready to inflict damage, not someone that nurtured another being into growth. That concept honestly had her uncomfortable and made her feel much more older than she really was.

Hope looked uncomfortable where he sat. His hands were on his lap and his brows furrowed, just listening to her. "I mean…I guess I would appreciate it if you told me where you were, just in case," he heard her clarify almost awkwardly. "If you don't cause trouble, I won't step in. What you do with your life is your business, as long as you don't get hurt."

"So…no crazy drunken college parties?"

"Define crazy." Her voice had a bit of a snap to it.

"I'll let you know." His lips widened into an odd grin. His fingers greedily nabbed his slice of pizza, and Lightning resumed the suspicious look she gave him earlier. "But…thanks. I…guess I wasn't sure what roles we were playing."

There was a soft snort on her behalf. "We're friends, Hope."

She didn't see him as a son, and she didn't_ say_ she saw him as a little sibling, either - they were friends. And those words coming out of her mouth made him feel a tingle of relief that had him almost ashamed.

* * *

"Living with Lightning Farron for over a week, and he still lives!" Yuj threw his arms up into the air, making no effort to keep his voice quiet. He was one of the hardest things to ignore. If he wasn't talking, the insane color of his long hair would draw attention to him instantaneously. Next to him, Maqui let out a sigh. "And look, he still doesn't have a black eye. Or a swollen lip. _Damn_. You owe Snow some tips."

They were hanging around Lebreau's café; it was a comfortable atmosphere, and the regular hangings of the members of Team NORA. Hope wasn't a fan. Lightning was less of a fan. But Maqui and Yuj seemed like okay guys although both were a couple years his senior, and he needed some form of socialization.

At the mention of Lightning, Hope couldn't help but give him the faintest f smirks. "I think the difference with Lightning is that she isn't afraid to punch Snow in the face when he talks. Everyone else just keeps it restrained better."

"Ouch, Hope. Way to kick me in the nads." Hope seemed a little jarred at Snow's sudden appearance, but he didn't seem offended - he laughed it off and ruffled Hope's hair. Hope sighed and glared at him briefly. The kid treatment was grating his nerves. "Don't you guys have that thing?"

"What thing?" Maqui blinked.

"That thing the teachers give you guys when they hate you."

"…university doesn't offer detention," Yuj said, raising an eyebrow and trying to think over what exactly he meant."

"_You know_." Apparently, Yuj and Maqui didn't.

Hope decided to take a gander. "You mean homework, Snow?"

"Yeah!" he shouted excitedly and sat down next to them. "That. Good guess."

Hope tried not to smack his forehead. "Well, I guess I'm in school for a reason. What are you doing anyway? Aren't you supposed to be doing the manager thing?"

Snow's form of employment was helping Lebreau manage her little restaurant. It was the one establishment that also funded NORA with what they needed, plus it was the one employment that helped him support his family. Serah did what she could with a part time job, but she preferred to stay home and look after Cloud. Being small and gentle did not deter her from being a fierce bear protecting her cub.

"Lebreau's here; she's doing the inventory stuff, so I'm pretty much off." Snow stretched his long limbs and leaned against the chair in laze. "Lightning give you a curfew yet?"

"No," Hope grumbled. "She's not my parent, or anything."

Snow raised an eyebrow. "You're rebelling?"

Okay, now Hope was lost. "What?"

"Well, it's Lightning." That only clarified so much. "Soldier-Lightning. Disciplinary, serious, punctual Lightning. She's not setting any ground rules for you or anything?"

"Well, she said as long as I don't hurt myself or anyone, I can do whatever I want."

Snow looked mildly surprised, and Yuj started to pout plain as day. He folded his arms with a huff. "Man, I'd let that woman discipline me any day in every way."

The three men turned their heads to him and watched him oddly. Yuj appeared flustered and glared defensively. "What? She's hot. I mean, okay, I know I'm supposed to be against the expectations and rulings of the government, but hey, the whole soldier thing's pretty sexy."

"Dude, that's my sister-in-law," Snow groaned and buried his face into his hands. "This is so wrong."

"Yeah, let's just stop right there," Hope followed Snow's example. Instead of hiding his face in shame and embarrassment, he gave Yuj a warning look. Yuj speaking about her as simply a piece of meat spiked a sense of annoyance in him. Uncomfortable with this new found topic, he stood up. "I'm gonna get something to drink."

He walked away from the group, vaguely hearing Maqui scold an oblivious and stubborn Yuj. Decidedly blocking it out of his train of thoughts, he approached the empty bar that Lebreau stood behind, scribbling on a clipboard and paper.

Her head rose when she heard Hope sit down and sigh. Offering him a half-smile, she set the clipboard down. "Hey there, Hope. What can I get you, babe?"

"Can I just get a cup of coffee to go?"

"'Course!" Before turning to occupy herself, she stepped to the side to peek over at the circle of men by one of the tables. "The guys giving you a rough time or what? Let me tell you, if they are, Lightning's given me permission to--"

"It's fine," Hope interrupted with a weak smile. "They're just being…"

"Guys," the woman finished him. Hope nodded and she winked. "Understood. Coffee coming right up, hon."

Lebreau busied herself doing his request, and after several seconds the seat next to Hope became occupied. He quickly glanced over to the newcomer; a man with shaggy dark here, and Hope would have started minding his own business until he saw his shoulder.

"Military?" Hope piped up casually. He wasn't opposed to small talk.

The man blinked his eyes and peered over at him, giving him a small sneer before responding. "Guardian Corps."

"Figured that much." He offered the man a tiny smile. "You're a sergeant?"

"Huh. Good catch." When Lebreau slid Hope's coffee towards him, her attention was turned to the new guest. "Oh--greygoose. Double. On the rocks, please."

"Only because I know a sergeant of the Guardian Corps, too." Hope held the cardboard cup to his lips and sipped his hot drink slowly. "You might actually know her, come to think of it."

The pronoun "her" was what caught his attention. Once his drink was in his possession, he stirred it with the little black straw it came with and eyed Hope from the corner of his eye. "Her, huh?"

There was only one female Guardian Corps Sergeant placed in Bodhum.

"It wouldn't be someone with the last name of _Farron_, would it?"

* * *

Hope's irritation with Yuj's blatant statements about Lightning had managed to last for the entire night, even if the bright-haired man shut his mouth quickly after Snow threatened to beat him. Originally his ride back home, Hope opted to hitch a ride back with Snow on his cruiser once he decided to leave.

"You know, I kind of miss my Eidolon," Snow brought up with a nostalgic smile, his large hands gripping the clutch. "Nothing rode like those babies. And they never ran out of gas, either."

Hope couldn't help but chuckle and Snow's smile widened. "Yeah. If there's one thing I miss about being a l'Cie, it's the Eidolons. And the magic using, too. Wish we could retain those."

He never thought he would ever actually miss being a l'Cie. If it weren't for the fact that it involved carrying a stigma around that was essentially a ticking time bomb that would, eventually, turn you into a ghoul when the goal wasn't completed, he didn't mind the advantages it brought with it - the use of magic; the warmth of healing spells engulfing his hands, the summoning of the elements, and the summoning of beings larger than life from their own personal cores. Their Eidolons especially played a pivotal role when they were l'Cie - for each of them, they served as a realization, a sort of awakening that was still part of themselves. But being reverted back to a regular human being, neither of them would hear Odin's raging hooves or see the towers of ice the Shiva Sisters constructed with power alone.

"By the way, who was the guy you were talking to at the bar?" Snow started up his cruiser and they sped off, a startled yelp escaping Hope's mouth. "He looked almost familiar."

"Oh, him? Apparently he works with Light." Hope barely shrugged. "He seemed nice. His name's Ash."

"Huh." Snow rubbed his chin thoughtfully, operating the cruiser easily with one hand. "Heard of him from somewhere…damn. I can't remember where."

"Don't think too hard, Snow. You might hurt yourself."

"Funny," Snow glanced over his shoulder quickly to scowl, and Hope offered him a pretty-boy grin. "Eh, whatever. It'll come to me at some point."


	5. Sailing Across the Sun

**Chapter V**

_Sailing Across the Sun_

_

* * *

_

It was one of Lightning's rare days off. Coincidentally, it was also one of the days that Hope lacked any sort of class-like responsibilities at his university. It wasn't often he would see her laze around - even workaholic soldiers needed some time of leisure. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun carelessly pinned to her head and a set of her own style of pajamas he would scarcely see her in - baggy, cotton-made sweatpants with a shirt that barely concealed the flesh of her belly.

Their morning started with a plate of scrambled eggs and powder-covered donuts, and a languid transition to the couch in the living room. Both still clad in pajamas, Hope became the commander of the television's remote and flipped through channels boring. Lightning was on the opposite side of the couch, legs tucked under her as she curled up with a newspaper clutched in her hands.

After a pregnant silence, Hope settled on a channel that played some anonymous movie and diverted his full-attention to the woman balled at the end of the couch; her blue eyes looking over the written words.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Hope stretched his legs on the couch, letting his feet prod her for attention.

She peered at him and folded the newspaper. "Hn?"

"You have your belly-button pierced, right?"

That was a random topic of conversation. Blinking, her eyes went over to her stomach and she uncoiled her position to expose the metallic ring going through her skin. It was also what caught Hope's eye and he examined it from where he was, interested.

"Did it hurt?"

"Sort of." The newspaper was dropped on the floor and Lightning brought her fingers to her stomach, tugging at the ring. "It was sore for a few months. Serah wanted one right after I got it done, actually." A ghost of a smile played on her lips at the memory. "She was too young, of course."

Hope cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. "Can I touch it?"

That was an odd request. Lightning's shoulders rolled into a light shrug. "Go for it."

He almost expected her to reject his request, but when she acted like it wasn't a big deal, he curiously straightened himself and crawled closer. Holding himself on his arms, part of him was hovering over Lightning's body, but his eyes were locked onto her belly-button.

He reached over and poked it.

"So…it stops hurting after awhile."

"Yes."

"Can you remove it?"

She didn't respond verbally. Instead, she demonstrated his request by pinching the metal ball between her fingers and unscrewing it. Once it was off, she simply pulled the bar from her skin and Hope's eyes enlarged.

"_Weird_," he breathed.

"And what sparked your sudden interest, exactly?" He watched her slip the metal back in and screw the ball back in tightly, tugging the ring a little to assure security. "You want one?"

"I don't think a pierced belly-button would suit me."

"I meant, in general."

His nose wrinkled and he sat on his knees, still in surprisingly close physical proximity to her. "I was actually thinking about it. I mean, I am of age, and all that." His fingers gently poked at her belly-button ring again. "And…it looks pretty cool, actually. I like it. I'd probably get one in the eyebrow."

"Eyebrow ring, huh?" She smirked. "Your father entrusts me with your safety, and here I am, influencing you to get a facial piercing. I feel like I somehow failed him."

Hope made a face at her. "He'll learn to deal. Why did _you_ get your belly-button pierced?"

Good question. "There's no deep reasoning behind it. I just wanted it."

"Exactly." Hope grinned crookedly. "I don't need a deep, philosophical, life-changing reason for a piercing. I mean, it's not like a tattoo in the permanent sense. If I don't like it, I can just take it off, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"Wanna come, then?" He tugged on her arms excitedly to the point that she was forced t sit up. "Please? No way am I going alone. Actually, I wouldn't know where to go…"

Lightning watched him warily. "You're serious."

"Yeah. Aren't college kids supposed to do crazy stuff?"

"As long as I don't find myself breaking up a crazy party that you're attending, filled with the unlawful use of recreational drugs, then, sure." She shrugged and his face brightened up considerably.

"Yes!" Hope pumped his fist into the air and enveloped Lightning into a brief hug. She didn't have time to respond, because when she even registered the gesture of affection, he released her and scrambled off the couch. "Gonna go get ready!"

She watched him practically skip to his bedroom and she watched after him, close to looking bewildered. His excitement made her smile, though, and she shook her head, getting up to mimic his idea of getting dressed.

* * *

"So…how much is it supposed to hurt, again?"

Hope was fidgeting. Lightning warned him that the nerves start acting up once the papers were finally signed, because it made the reality of getting a needle in your skin even more real. She took him to the place where she got her piercing years ago - it was run by almost a different staff, but she still continued to hear excellent, safe reviews. She wasn't about to take him some place that was shady.

"Can't say. Never had a needle go through my eyebrow before." She stood close to him, intently watching the woman who would be responsible for handling the needle. She was making absolutely sure that everything was sanitized before it even _touched_ him, and she had an inkling that her presence was more than wanted to comfort him.

"Oh. Right."

His leg kept bouncing up and down with unease. She peered down at him. "You'll be fine."

Hope nodded, trying not to let the anxiety etch his face. His brows knitted together because he at least knew it would make him look more serious. Or manly. Or both. "Who went with you? I mean, when you got yours done. Did Serah come? A friend?"

"I was by myself."

"…I don't think I'd be able to come here by myself."

"Serah was too young," she clarified and shrugged nonchalantly. "And I skipped out of college, so I didn't have much of a social life."

Or adolescence, for that matter. Her role as a teenager turning young adult was robbed when she was forced to become the protector; the sole caretaker of herself and her baby sister when her parents passed. There were no parties, no laughing with her friends, no shopping trips, no beach trips. It was work, and trying to figure out where their next meal would come from and how they were going to be able to afford it.

This was something he knew about her as clear as day. He would never claim that he knew every single detail of Lightning's life, but he knew enough, and he could never imagine how he could deal with a responsibility like that if he were in her shoes. There was no time for fun; just work.

Thinking that over, he felt guilty. He was started a point of his life that she never got to enjoy because the opportunity was seized from her. And even though no one could help it, it wasn't fair.

"I'm sorry." His whispered apology caught her off guard. His strangely large fingers wrapped around her arm and his eyes met hers. He smiled up sadly. "But you've got me around now. And--I'm not going anywhere any time soon. I think. So, I'll drag you around with me for the legendary college fun, at least."

"What?" Confusion colored her face. "Where the hell did all that come from?"

Before he could muster an answer, the woman turned to him - she was attractive in her own odd style, her lips dressed in a dark color, her hair dipped in wild hues, and metal sticking out of many areas of her body. Not to mention there were plenty of bright tattoos etched on her skin. She smiled at Hope and winked. "Ready, big guy?"

His fingers absolutely did not uncurl from Lightning's arm. "Yeah," he said, his voice void of uncertainty.

But she knew he was still nervous. She moved a hand over his in silent comfort, and Hope clenched his eyes shut once he felt metal tongs pinch the skin of his brow.

"Just relax," said the piercer soothingly. Hope did the opposite and tensed automatically, until Lightning's thumb ran across his knuckles rhythmically. "Take a deep breath, okay?"

He did just as she said.

"Good. Now, exhale for me."

Right as he let out that gasp of air, Lightning watched as the woman skillfully plunged the needle into his brow. She felt Hope slightly flinch but for the most part, he stayed still and made no sound whatsoever. She'd seen people get shot, stabbed, and die, but she had never seen someone get pierced. And she found the experience sort of weird, in an ironic sense.

The woman worked her hands like magic - the tongs were moved, the needle pulled out and quickly placed by a ring that she closed up with a metal bar. "There you go, big guy. How was it for your first piercing?"

His lids slowly lifted, and he blinked his eyes a few times before fully relaxing. "Actually…I didn't feel much. Huh. Weird."

"Hey, I'd thank your girlfriend lady here." The piercer winked and both Hope and Lightning's eyes widened. "The presence of a woman seems to always calm a guy up. Except, not when you're me, anyway - they're scared of me 'cuz I'm the one with the long needle."

"Um, he's…" Lightning was interrupted by her after-care instructions, and Hope didn't have the nerve to interfere, still kind of reeling from her assumption.

"It'll heal completely in about three months, but try to avoid adding any sort of pressure, and clean it with non-scented soap, kay?" She was scribbling instructions down as she was explaining. "If you've got any problems or concerns, stop by and see me, okay? Usually it all heals just fine, but everyone's skin is different, so we get a few of the rejects coming in sometimes."

She handed him the paper and Hope nodded dumbly to everything she explained. "Annnd…to the part every hates: the paying thing. That'll be fifty-five gil, please!"

The piercer held her hand out and smiled cheekily. It took Hope a few moments to register what she was asking for, still a little dazed, but before he could even reach for his wallet Lightning handed over the money plus some extra.

"Ooo, thank you, lady!" The piercer was tipped. She _loved_ tips.

"Lightning, I could have afforded that!" Hope glared up at his friend who decidedly ignored his annoyed eyes. He stood up, quickly expressed his gratitude to the woman, and they both walked out of the piercing parlor. The ring in his eyebrow became more noticeable as the skin around it ached lightly.

"What's your point?"

"…that I could have afforded that?" was his weak retort.

"It was your first piercing, Hope." Lightning pulled her hair loose from the bun. She hadn't bothered to give herself a more neat hair-do and it's not like she gave a damn in the first place. "It's kind of a big deal. I just felt like it was appropriate."

"Are you ever planning on getting more?"

"Um…don't know. Didn't give much thought to it. Why?"

Hope walked beside her, still glaring at her stubbornly. "Well, if you do, then I get dibs on paying for it, got it?"

His tone held a sense of authority she wasn't used to. She challenged him by a threatening stare of her own. "Are you telling me what to do, Hope?"

He blinked once. He blinked twice. And then the blood drained from his face. "Maybe. Sort of. Maybe…it was more of a suggestion?" Lightning wouldn't erase the look. "Okay, how about some icecream? I kind of want some icecream. At least let me pay for that?"

_Hm. Icecream…_

"I suppose," she slowly agreed. "Fine. Icecream."

Their leisurely walk lead them to the shore of Bodhum, where they passed Lebreau's restaurant and stumbled upon a humble ice cream parlor. It had a plethora of flavors and a wide selection of toppings, so both of them found themselves spending several minutes making one of the more important decisions of their lives: what ice cream flavor, and what topping.

After multiple rubbings of their own chin in contemplation, and the silly mocking of twirling an imaginary mustache out of boredom, they settled on a bench complete with cones of ice cream, watching the waves of the ocean beat against the sandy shores.

"I can't remember the last time I had ice cream," Lightning randomly said. She picked a strawberry off her scoop and tossed it in her mouth.

"Well, what do you do on your days off, usually?"

"Baby sit."

"You're kidding, right?"

Lightning chuckled. "Apparently, I make a great nanny. Imagine that."

"Well, you're not babysitting now, are you?"

"Yet. I'm still waiting for Serah to give me a call. She usually does."

If there was one thing he had concluded since living with Lightning, it was that she needed a break. From _everything._

They decided in sitting quietly after that, enjoying the scoops of ice cream on their waffle cones before the sun's heat turned it into a milkshake. Lightning was comfortable with silence, and Hope took the moment to contemplate about things she was unaware of.

"Does it hurt?" Her hands were now empty of any evidence of ice cream. She wiped her hands off her pants before carefully brushing his bangs to the side, examining his new piercing. It looked red and slightly swollen, but that was to be expected.

"Mmm, a bit. Even if I'm not touching, I can still feel a bit of the soreness, you know?"

"That's normal." Lightning did a weird thing - she tucked his bangs behind his ear to the best of her ability. They were long enough anyway. "We've got some anti-septic stuff in the bathroom back home. Make sure to clean it when you wake up and before you go to bed."

He nodded and gave her a sheepish smile. "Does it look okay?"

Lightning didn't respond right away and that had him worried. Her eyes were on him, as if she was examining every single detail of his face. "Actually…" He stopped breathing when she started. "It looks good on you. Like it should have been there all along."

Hope slowly exhaled. "You think?"

She nodded. "Yeah. But when you call your dad to tell him…make sure I'm there. I want to hear his reaction."

She was giving him one of her rare and playful grins. He groaned and then let out a small laugh, leaning his head back. "Yeah, sure."

Until then, both of them were fully content in sitting on that particular bench for several minutes longer. His arms were on top of the bench, one hidden behind her, but it didn't touch her shoulders. They didn't mind the smell of the salty water, or the constant breezes given off by the ocean; moments like that were rare.

Lightning actually liked it.


	6. To See the Light’s All Faded

**Chapter VI**

_To See the Light's All Faded_

_

* * *

_

"And then…I don't know what I did wrong," Hope continued explaining. He winced at the memory and made odd gestures to emphasize the point. "I mean, I guess I didn't boil the noodles long enough or something. They were rock hard. And they cracked. And then the cheese was--I mean, man. Okay, you remember how sometimes we would keep animal leftovers after we killed some beasts? Like some fluids? It was kind of like that, except it was more of the ooze type of thing. And the color was just wrong."

Serah listened to his tale of his attempt at making macaroni and cheese a few nights ago. She heard Lightning mention the disaster in passing, but Hope went on to great detail when it came to his culinary failure. She dried her hands off with a rag and set it aside, giving the poor guy an awkward smile. "Actually…that does sound pretty bad. Don't those boxes come with instructions?"

Hope sighed. "_That's_ the sad part." His lower lip jutted out in a kid-like pout, waving one of Cloud's toys at the toddler. The little boy found great entertainment in trying to nab his grand possession from Hope's teasing hands. "And when she comes home and has no food made for her, I feel bad, you know?"

Serah knew exactly how he felt. That feeling of guilt was the reason why she had taken over kitchen duty when she finally became more experienced in the kitchen - her sister worked so hard, that she at least deserved to come home to a hot meal. "You need lessons."

Hope nodded sagely. "I do."

"You've come to the right place, too." Snow snuck up on his short wife, pressing a kiss against the top of her head. Serah leaned back into his arms with a gentle giggle and smiled warmly at her husband. "She's a killer cook. Weird part is, she still claims she learned all she knows from Lightning, of all people."

"She's an excellent cook with no time in her hands," Serah defended her sister, sighing sadly. "But, I can definitely give you some lessons, no problem. How has she been doing, actually? I haven't seen her in a few days. Usually if she's not working, she comes to see me."

"Well, she had the day off about two days ago, but she kind of spent it with me." Hope smiled guiltily.

"And where did you get _that_?" Snow pointed a finger at him. Serah blinked.

"What are you talking about, Snow?"

Hope was about to ask the same question as Serah, until he realized that Snow was pointing at his eye. Letting out a small 'oh,' he brushed his bangs to the side to expose the little piercing going through his brow. "Light went with me to get it done on her day off, actually. I kind of got inspired from her belly-button."

"Oh, wow! That's so cute!" Serah leaned in closer to get a better look. "I want one now!"

"Until Cloud goes, 'oh, there's something shiny on mommy!' and pulls it." Snow wasn't often a buzz kill, but he made Hope and Serah both cringe at the imagery. Hope actually set Cloud's toy down and edged away from the toddler, who took the opportunity to snatch his toy and chew on it ravenously. "What? It's true. Although, I don't know, it'd be kind of hot, Serah."

His wife rolled her eyes. "Nevermind, Snow. You just killed it."

"Aw, damn."

"But, anyway, back to your question…she's doing fine." Hope frowned a little. "Although I wish she had more fun. I'm surprised she doesn't go out with some of the people she works with, at least. You'd think they'd have common interests."

Not that Hope entirely minded that Lightning didn't socialize much; he sort of liked being that one exception, and having her all to himself.

"Yeah, no." Serah shook her head. "Ever since she started out as a soldier, she never really grew close to anyone there."

"Really?" Hope toyed with the salt and pepper shakers idly. "I met another Sergeant from the Guardian Corps at Lebreau's place one night, actually. He seemed to be pretty familiar with her. In a good friend, kind of way. Actually, I forgot to tell her I even met him…"

One of Serah's eyebrows rose suspiciously. "That's weird. Who was he?"

"Uh…" Hope thought back to his encounter with the soldier. "Tall. Black hair. Um…I think his name was…Ash? Yeah, that sounds about right."

"You know, I was telling him that guy looked familiar that night, but I couldn't figure out from whe--Serah?"

Serah just buried her face into her hands, and there was something like an unnatural growl coming from her. The weirdest part is that Snow and Hope could have almost absolutely sworn that they heard a small "shit" being uttered under her breath. And Serah _never_ cursed. Because it was _Serah_.

"Serah?" Snow repeated, worried. "What's wrong, babe? Who is he?"

"He's _that guy_, Snow." Serah's eyes narrowed at her husband, but her anger wasn't directed at him. "You know--the guy I told you? And how Lightning--_you know._"

It took several seconds for him to finally realize exactly what he was referring to. Once realization dawned him, his eyes widened and his mouth opened. "Oh," he said quietly at first. And then he repeated it. This time, more urgently, and louder. "Oh. _Oh._ _That_ guy. Now I remember--that's him. Oh, but, Serah, it's not _that_ of a big deal, is it?"

"I just don't like it, okay?" Serah let out a frustrated sigh.

Hope was watching them, confusion written all over his face. "Okay, I'm lost. Mind telling me what gives?"

Serah and Snow exchanged awkward looks. After a second, Snow motioned a hand towards Hope, giving Serah an expectant look. "She's _your_ sister. You explain it to him."

He had a point. Serah's lips let out another sigh and she crossed her arms, still looking angry about _something._ And Serah wasn't the temperamental type - that was Lightning's title. "Lightning has…commitment issues, if you couldn't tell," the woman began. "Growing up. Sometimes, and just sometimes - but it still bothered me - she would let off steam by…by…"

"By?" Hope egged her on.

Snow went over to quickly cover Cloud's ears. He was okay with that - he was chewing on his toy like there was no greater pleasure on Coccoon.

"She slept with a few guys, okay?" Serah rubbed her forehead and looked away. "It's probably not a big deal, and she's no where near a slut or anything - don't get me wrong, she has much more dignity than that. It's…just…it's sometimes a way for her to let off some steam. Urges are natural, right? And it wouldn't bother me so much, but I remember the night she first slept with someone…"

* * *

_Her sister would come home late, but never, ever this late. It was past midnight when Lightning would always be punctual coming home; 11:30 PM on the dot after her regular night patrol shift._

_Serah waited up for her. She was tempted to call the Guardian Corp headquarters to see if she had left, or contact her direct superior, but she was afraid of jumping the gun too quick. She was just an hour or two late - maybe it wasn't a big deal._

_When she heard the door unlock and her sister enter, relief flooded Serah's chest. _

"_Claire, I was worried. You could have called."_

_It took awhile for Serah to register the disheveled look her sister wore; undone hair with visible knots and a uniform that looked like it was put on in the dark. She didn't look injured, though - there was no blood or bruise, but the foul and nose-wrinkling smell of alcohol reeked from her pores._

"_Claire, were you drinking?"_

"_Sort of," her sister answered quietly, feeling a bit ashamed._

_Serah glared at her sister. "You should have called if that was the case! I was thinking that maybe--something happened to you! You look like you just rolled out of bed!"_

"_I sort of did."_

_Serah was now officially confused. "What?"_

_Lightning closed her eyes and sighed, closing the door behind her with a bit of a slam. "I did something stupid, Serah."_

_Her voice was small and quiet and Serah gulped quietly. She grasped her sister's wrist and carefully pulled her over to a kitchen chair, sitting down with her. "What happened?"_

"_God, it was so stupid." Lightning groaned into her hands, hiding her face in them. Serah sensed she was ashamed of something, but she didn't know what._

"_Talk to me," Serah begged. "Please."_

_She could still see that her sister was still slightly intoxicated - her words were somewhat slurred and her movements lethargic. Lightning sighed irritably and pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyes tightly clenched shut. "I went out on an invite with a few of the soldiers for some drinks. And something went too far."_

_Serah's blood ran cold. "No one took advantage of you, did they?"_

"_No."_

"_Then--?"_

"_I knew what I was doing, Serah." Her fist slammed down on the table and it startled her baby sister. "I mean, shit."_

"_You did…everything?"_

"_Yes, Serah. If we want to get crude, I fucked and got fucked. To someone I barely knew."_

_

* * *

_"She used protection, she assured me of that," Serah continued. Snow simply decided to distract himself with his son; hearing about Lightning's sexual history made him feel a wee bit uncomfortable. "The next day, she acted like it was nothing, and moping about it was stupid. But then it repeated. When we were little girls we always said how we always looked forward of doing…that, at least, with a special person, you know?" Serah bit her lip. "But she just discards them like nothing after she's done with them. It's all a power-game to her, whether she likes to admit it or not. She's jaded, because she thinks she ruined it for herself."

"And, basically," Snow finally decided to contribute with a sigh. "That Ash guy? One of them. But it looked like she kept him around a bit longer than the others. Personally, I don't think it's that of a big deal - she's a grown woman, and her choice is her choice. Serah just really wants her to find that special someone one day, instead of making it so…"

"Empty," Serah finished for him, wrapping her arms around herself.

Hope had remained deathly silent throughout Serah's story. He'd be lying if he said he never wondered about Lightning's sexual experience - she didn't strike him as someone who would fit under the category of 'virginal,' but he also had trouble seeing her letting someone get that intimate with her. But he knew Lightning, and he could perfectly see her doing something like that without any emotions attached - making it primal instinct and empty lust.

He didn't know if he could formulate a response to that. Hearing it made him feel a peculiar, twisting feeling in his gut - and it wasn't a happy, warm feeling, either. And it was only directed to the memory of Ash, the man who apparently had Lightning in his bed more than once.

If he liked the guy at some point by being mere acquaintances, now he completely hated him and the real reason as to why eluded him.

"She doesn't talk about it much to me anymore." Serah's eyes fell on a little photo of her and Lightning in their younger years, positioned carefully on the counter. "But I do know she tried to can the guy because he was getting attached. I think he ended up having feelings for her, and he might be trying to pursue her."

Snow squeezed his wife's hand. "He hasn't had much luck, obviously. Lightning being with anyone in that…sense? It's not going to be easy for her."

"She's…never said anything to me." Hope looked at his hands as if they were the most interesting thing to him. "I guess I'm not surprised; she's so private, and she probably still thinks of me of a kid. And who talks to a kid about that kind of stuff?" The last part came out slightly bitter, and Serah zoned on it.

After giving a vague nod of understanding, Serah was beginning to finally put some pieces together.

* * *

The majority of the lights in the house were turned off when she arrived, but from the kitchen, she could see the glow of the television and hear the fuzzy voices and music coming from it. It was late and she was surprised Hope seemed to still be up - she was sure he had classes bright and early. Setting her bag on the kitchen counter and kicking her boots off lazily, she dragged herself over to the living room. Hope was laying on the couch wrapped in a blanket, his eyes open and blinking at the television screen.

"Hey," she said quietly and nudged his legs. Diverting his attention to her, he got the message and moved his legs, letting her sit down. "It's late."

Hope untangled himself from the blanket and sat up. "So are you, Light."

"Late night at work." She slumped into the sofa, forgetting the whole "perfect posture" soldiers were often forced to do. A yawn escaped her mouth and she rubbed her aching shoulder. "I would have called, but I figured you were asleep."

The excuse of having a "late night" was something he almost didn't even believe, not after listening to Serah's story. But Serah _did_ say that Lightning wasn't seeing him anymore - not after he turned clingy. He watched her silently as she became mildly interested in what was going on the screen, and his eyes wandered at the moving hand rubbing her skin.

Maybe it _was_ just a late night at work. But he couldn't help but wonder if maybe, maybe there was someone else she had found that agreed to her set of rules. He wanted to ask, but he had a feeling that would simply rile her up and there was no guarantee he would get the direct truth.

Sighing, he figured it was best to shake the thoughts off. It wasn't any of his business, even if he finally knew what that feeling boiling in his gut was - a nasty little inkling of something called envy, with a hint of possession. His legs slid off the couch and his body moved closer, and she eyed him from the corner of her vision.

"Sore?" He asked her, pointing at her shoulder. Her response at first was a small snort.

"I'm fine."

"Hence the compulsive massaging, right?" Sarcasm wasn't used against her often; at least, not by him, so she gave him a weak glare and he offered her a sheepish smile. "Look, turn around."

"What?"

He insisted and whirled his finger around in demonstration. "C'mon, turn around."

"_Why_?"

"You look tired," Hope pointed out the obvious and scooted back, turning sideways so his back would be up against the arm rest, and one leg was brought back onto the couch. "And massaging yourself while you're kind of tired seems redundant to me. It's the least I could do for not making you dinner."

She still seemed hesitant. "You don't owe me anything, Hope. I told you not to worry about it."

"I'm not exactly listening." He smiled crookedly and shrugged his shoulders oh-so innocently. It made Lightning roll her eyes, and without saying anything she turned and swung her legs onto the couch. She scooted back until she felt his chest and crossed her arms. Her silent obedience genuinely surprised him. He expected her to be more difficult, but he wasn't going to discourage her. His hands crept up to her shoulders and it didn't take a genius for feeling how tense she was under his hands. Whether that was from work, or from the odd position she found herself in with him, he didn't know.

At first, he didn't say anything. Both of them ignored the sounds and the images the television flashed. He worked his fingers against her skin in firm, yet paradoxically tender motions, and he waited until he knew she felt like putty to speak up. "So, what exactly did you _do_ at work? I mean, I'm no professional or anything, but you're knotted up, Light."

Lightning took her time in responding. Her head hung lethargically and her lids closed over her eyes. "Routine drill."

"To keep you guys in shape," he concluded.

Her answer was a small "mmhm," and a smile grew on his face - something she was completely unaware of in her state. She was more comfortable with him than he had ever seen her, but exhaustion was a factor in that. Once he figured it was enough, he stopped and the soldier fell against him almost limply.

Hope blinked multiple times. "Light?"

Her arms were still crossed and her head still hung, but she didn't utter a sound, not even the smallest of snores. Peeking over her head, he saw the rise and fall of her chest, and it was safe to assume that she fell right asleep. He was sure that any attempt to squirm and move would wake her up, and a surprisingly big part of him couldn't bring himself to. But the reality of the situation was that he was pinned in between the couch and a woman of lethal skill.

Hope was stuck for the night. He reached over for the remote and turned off the television, letting the living room envelop in darkness. He grasped the blanket from the ground and carefully draped it over her. He froze when he felt her shift ever so slightly, and relaxed when he realized she simply continued to snooze.

He was probably going to have a mighty uncomfortable night, but he didn't mind. And he didn't want to exactly think about _why_ he didn't mind. At least Hope knew that she wasn't with some stranger for the night; so he could sleep alright, because she was here with him instead.


	7. Heaven's Overrated

**Chapter VII**

_Heaven's Overrated_

_

* * *

_Morning was realized at the ringing sound of Hope's alarm, vibrating from the speakers of his cell phone. He had left it there just in case he somehow dozed off and spent the night in the couch, but when Lightning had arrived and when she was nestled between his legs, he had completely forgotten about it. It only took one ring for Lightning to stir, and it took approximately three rings to make Hope even twitch.

Lightning's stirring became a catalyst to his own, and Hope's first greet was a pained groan; his body finally registering the ache shooting through his spine. He had slept in an uncomfortable position without movement, so his body was finally beginning to feel the consequences.

"Shit," Lightning cursed as she groggily sat up, wincing at the brightness the sun decided to ever so rudely invade her home with. "Sorry--I didn't--"

Hope took the opportunity to straighten and stretch. "It's--it's okay!" he quickly stammered, though his voice still dry with sleep. "Didn't mind. I got tired, too."

"What time is it?" Even though she was off of Hope, she still remained on the couch, rubbing some feeling into her face.

He reached over and snatched his phone to turn the alarm off. "Time for me to get ready, actually." That meant she still had time before her day started, so she relaxed, a sigh of relief fleeing her mouth.

With a frown, Hope took the liberty to scoot closer. "Still tired, huh?"

"Mmhm."

He contemplated for about two seconds before his face lit up. She didn't see it, of course - her arm was stretched over her eye exhaustedly. "I'm going to get dressed real quick and I'll make us some breakfast before I leave, okay? I mean, I think I'm pretty good at making eggs."

"You _think._"

Hope rolled his eyes and tugged at her arm. She eventually allowed him to pull her arm away and she was watching him suspiciously. "Just trust me, okay?" No response. "Serah taught me some stuff. If I mess up, you have the permission to mock me."

"Under one condition."

He didn't even think a situation like this required conditions. "Yeah?"

Lightning simply rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head. "Five more minutes."

Hope couldn't help but laugh, and Lightning's chuckle was heard faintly underneath the thick cover.

* * *

"Think I'd have a chance with your history partner?" Yuj was being doggishly shameless, his tongue pressed against his upper lip briefly in quick thought. His words were directed to a somewhat distracted Hope, who was walking beside him, and Maqui sauntered on his opposite side and completely did not see his eye roll. "Don't know, man, you've got to admit, she's pretty cute."

It took a few moments for Hope to realize that Yuj was actually saying something to him, but whether or not it was actually worth listening to, he hadn't decided. He decided to just let out a small "oh" and shrugged nonchalantly, pretending to follow the conversation. But Yuj wasn't stupid - at least, not _all_ the time - and huffed, punching Hope in the shoulder.

"Thanks for paying attention."

Hope blinked several times and sent him a momentary glare, dusting his shoulder off as if he was dismissing the punch. "The heck was that for?"

Yuj equipped himself with sarcasm. "For paying attention."

"He's just desperate for something. Or _someone_," Maqui contributed. "That history partner with that one history assignment I completely wasn't paying attention to…"

"First Lightning and now my partner?" Hope slapped his forehead. The trio of young men approached their destination - a metal circular table in front of one of the university's many coffee and study shops. Dropping their heavy bags filled with books at their feet, they took their seats. "Do you _ever_ stop?"

Yuj held his hands up defensively. "Hey, just sayin'. I mean, dude, I'm mostly joking and being a _guy_, but what about you?"

Maqui pulled a book from his belongings and flipped it open with a smile. "Nope. He never stops," he said, referring to the question Hope inquired and that Yuj willfully neglected.

"Yuj, how old _are_ you?"

The question initially confused the brightly hair-colored man. "Older than you?"

"You sure about that?" Hope's retort was skeptical and his smile was a mix of amusement and slyness. Yuj scowled. "If you want me to set you up with my partner, then just ask. If it's Lightning, then no."

Maqui's brows rose in great interest. Deciding to jump onto the bandwagon, he dropped his book onto his table and leaned forward curiously. "So, you've got a _preference._" Yuj joined in with a devious snicker, and both boys had their eyes burning into the very puzzled Hope, who just looked like a deer caught in blinding headlights.

"Wait, _what?_" Hope tried his best to come ff as offended and entirely lost, but the heat growing in his cheeks betrayed those efforts. He didn't like the knowing smirks those two wore - that was never a good thing. _Ever_. "S-Stop putting words in my mouth, okay? Besides, your chances with my partner are _way_ higher than your chances with Lightning."

"Do we even know that girl's name?" Maqui asked in passing, contemplative.

Yuj wagged his finger from side to side. "Besides the point. Dude, it's perfectly fine. If I were you, _I'd_ be all over Lightning."

Hope sighed. "No. You'd be dead."

"Okay, that's _also_ besides the point." As far as he knew, Yuj was just another one of Snow's annoying lackeys from NORA. Even with the military and the attention that would sometimes be spotted on them, Lightning let them be and often turned a blind eye - so he got the impression that she at least _tolerated _his existence. His chair screeched against the tiles as he scooted closer to Hope. "I might be a raging pile of hormones, but at least I'm man enough to admit it. Nothing wrong with that."

"Riiiiiiiiiight," Hope slurred out, eyes skeptically narrowed. He automatically scooted away from Yuj's sudden closeness and grabbed the straps of his backpack, pushing his chair back to stand. "Whatever. I'm going anyway. I promised Serah I'd stop by."

"Notice how he leaves every time we bring Lightning up under a certain light?" Yuj was talking to Maqui and acting like Hope had already left.

Maqui nodded. "Affirmative."

Taking a lesson from Lightning, Hope turned around, lifted both of his fingers, and saluted them both with the middle finger as his response. Yuj and Maqui broke out in hysterical laughter, and didn't even stop when Hope, sighing in defeat, turned around and left. Because they knew if that was the response they got when it came to _that_ topic, then they touched upon something sensitive.

* * *

If there was one privilege Lightning took advantage of during her days of work was the opportunity to use the gym on shift - and get paid for it. It was often encouraged to make use of the Guardian Corp's equipment; its sole purpose was to keep the soldiers in pristine shape, or keep their skill up to par. They did not tolerate any sloppiness or decreasing of skill - that was when a soldier became a liability.

Stripped from her regular uniform, Lightning's clothing consisted of a tank top that stretched firmly over her form, black shorts, and muddy sneakers. And instead of the side ponytail she routinely fashioned, her champagne tinted hair was piled up into a messy bun; stray strands of hair sticking to her sweated skin. She was taking a few hours to train in raw physicality alone; they had much more advanced arenas for training, like shooting ranges and computer stimulated situations.

But to her, it was nice to lose herself in the continuous pounding of her fists against large, hard punching bags. Her aim with a gun was nearly impeccable and she was quick on her feet and slippery in tight pinches, but she was not exactly known for her physical prowess. However, she was by far a weakling and was fully capable of holding her own, but she was petite like her sister. The only difference was that she was only a few inches taller.

"Surprised you haven't punched a hole through that." The particular sound of his voice made her knuckles slam into the punching bag one last ferocious time before both arms fell to her sides and she stood straight, catching her breath in quick and short gasps. "Oh--don't mind me. Sorry if I interrupted."

Lightning reached up to wipe the warm sweat off her brow, keeping her back to him. She didn't feel like wasting her breath and words on him yet - if she could just walk away and ignore him, that would be more than ideal. He either genuinely could not take a hint or pretended not to - and Lightning was pretty sure he pretended to not know how. She knew a few things about Ash; one was that he only _acted_ like a dumbass.

For the most part.

Still not openly acknowledging his existence, Lightning sat on the nearby bench and grabbed her towel, wiping her face. Her back no longer to him, she briefly peered at him and took note that he definitely was not dressed for the gym - he was in his Sergeant uniform.

Which meant that he wasn't here to train. Which meant that, most likely, he was here just for her.

Ash was not offended by her cold silence. He invited himself to sit beside her. "I have a question for you."

"Make it quick."

Ash repressed a chuckle at her blatant no-nonsense attitude. Many were often intimidated by her sharp tongue and frequently annoyed stare, but Ash was known to be one of the few with decently sized balls. Not to mention he was her equal, so there was no hierarchy of inferiority or superiority with them.

"You're housing a college kid, right?"

Right when he answered, Lightning hesitated in undoing her bun. Her head slowly turned and her expression was an interesting mix of annoyance and confusion. "I'm having a difficult time seeing your point, Ash."

He neglected her look and casually looked over his boots, as if he was inspecting them for cleanliness. "White hair, green eyes? Brand new facial piercing?"

"How the hell--"

"We met," he said, cutting her off with a smirk oozing arrogance. "He was the boy that was with you during the whole l'Cie fiasco, right?" Lightning was _still_ recovering over the fact that he and Hope had met - Hope had never mentioned anything to her to begin with. "I recognized him. We still have footage of you two being spotted from Palempolum from a bird's eye view. You _do_ remember that, don't you?"

"No shit," Lightning hissed and stood up, angrily throwing her bag over her shoulder. "If you're not making a point anytime soon, then I'm leaving."

"Who says there needs to be a point, Farron?" After shrugging his shoulders, he mimicked her by rising to his feet, dusting his uniform. "We met at that one little café by the seaside. The one your brother-in-law manages at. Recognized my insignia, and asked if I knew you."

Lightning's eyes widened from their usual glare - but only briefly, because a whole brand new one, pissed off and mighty, was directed right back at him for several seconds. "And you _said_?"

He pretended to not comprehend her irritability. "That I know you?"

"And?"

"And that you're my colleague?"

Lightning still looked expectant.

After several moments of intense silent and her continuous glower that felt like it could _literally_ cut bone, Ash let out a sigh. "That's it. I didn't say anything else."

She still looked like she didn't believe him.

Intrigued, Ash slowly ran a finger through his mess of dark hair and took a few steps closer to his fellow Sergeant, his voice lowering a few notches. "And why do you care, exactly, that I possibly could have told him more?"

"I'd be breaking your face if you aired my personal business, regardless to who you're talking to." She bit into her lip, and then continued. "But I'd probably break it even more if you spoke to him, or Serah."

It was easy to conclude that she definitely did _not_ approve of him interacting with Hope, and she would definitely _not_ approve of him revealing to Hope about any sort of personal information involving her, for that matter. Serah he could easily understand - that was Lightning's baby sister, and it was no secret that Lightning was more than willing to move the heavens and rip the earth for her. But Hope? He couldn't pinpoint in. His first assumption was that it was the same reason with Serah - but Hope would just be the little brother.

It would make sense, but something in Ash encouraged him to prod further.

"I'm just trying to understand you," he admitted, although he knew saying that would agitate her even more. "He seems like a good kid."

"Yeah," Lightning agreed stiffly. "He's a good man. He's outgrown the 'kid' name. And there's not much to understand, Ash. What's the sudden interest?"

"Just curious." Ash shrugged. He was being completely honest - he _was_ just curious. "He seems attached to you."

"That's what happens when your lives tend to be endangered together."

"Right." He suddenly smiled at her, but there was something about it that she didn't like - she wasn't sure if it was him, or if she was just getting too riled up to the point that everything he did aggravated her. He walked past her, both arms behind him. "Don't forget about our Summit in the next couple weeks. We're being requested to be present about plans concerning Gran Pulse."

He didn't have to remind her, but she didn't say anything. All she did was snort and turn sharply on her heel, storming gracefully into the showers. It was always, always funny when one question turned into an entire conversation - and she wasn't liking the angle Ash was taking it, either.


	8. Falling For a Shooting Star

**Chapter VIII**

_Falling for a Shooting Star_

_

* * *

_

"I love how she asks permission to use the house for a party," Lightning sourly piped up, watching everyone run around the pool in the yard from the large windows of the inside. "And her timing is impeccable, strangely enough."

If there was one thing Snow and Serah had in common, it was the occasional spontaneous crazy idea that had no planning whatsoever. Lightning's schedule had slipped to Serah, and knowing it was Lightning's day off, decided to gather a large group and bring them over for a nice friendly barbeque and the utilization of the pool that was rarely, if ever, touched. It caught Lightning off guard and Hope had gotten a gist of the rumor a few days prior, but didn't think it would be anything serious.

Apparently, he was wrong. Because now there was a chocobo running around the outside perimeter of the pool, Snow wearing an apron that said "MR. BADASS" while he flipped burgers on the grill, Cloud completely covered in floaties just in case he tripped and fell into the pool, and Gadot fashioned a grass skirt and a shell bikini top.

"He's probably a little drunk," Hope contributed quietly, feeling a bit guilty about the entire thing. Lightning had given him a _nasty_ look when he confessed that he heard a rumor or two about Serah's plans, and gave him an even _nastier_ look when she found out he completely forgot to tell her. Lightning was still hesitant to go out there, even if she was already dressed in a two-piece swim suit and a towel draped over her shoulder. Hope stayed beside her, period, because if anything happened, he figured it would best to stay on Lightning's side at all times.

Her lips formed an aggravated scowl. "And Sahz better have a giant pooper scooper for the chocobo. Because, I swear, Hope, if I step on crap, I _will_ find a way to summon Odin and--"

"He _does_!" Hope interrupted hastily and gulped. "Serah made sure of that at least, and Sahz knows better."

That seemed to ease her. Her lids slowly closed over her eyes and she inhaled deeply, just to exhale slowly. Crowds weren't her thing. She knew Serah meant well - Serah was of the opinion that she needed to relax and have some medium of fun. And so was Hope. The difference was that Hope would have fun with her _outside_ of a loud crowd that included rambunctious men, and Serah would sometimes forget that little preference.

"On the bright side, Snow and Sahz said they would clean everything up for you afterwards?" He tried to be optimistic. He crept behind her, the view of everyone in the yard still visible, since he was at least a head taller, and his hands grasped her shoulders gently. "Doesn't hurt to have some kind of…weird, social fun, right? I mean, it might be fun making Gadot and Snow fall on their ass all day."

His comment made her snort, and then smile. "Did you call your dad?"

Hope's spirit took a slight plummet at the mention of his father. There was an odd, quiet whine coming from him that made Lightning crack her eyes open instantly. "Too short notice, apparently. He can't make it."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not much of a big deal, I guess. I'll see him some other time." His shoulders shrugged. Hope missed his father terribly - that was no lie. But he knew he would see him again. Sometimes, he just wished his dad would make some more time for him. About to say something else, both of them heard the glass door slide open and an older Dajh - who was beginning to look more and more like a mini-Sahz every passing day - clumsily waltzed in with an ungraceful Cloud following in tow.

"'aire!" was Cloud's high-pitched exclamation. He fashioned a bright life jacket with floaties on his arms, and one other floatie wrapped around his waist. He waddled over to Lightning and she kneeled, scooping her nephew into her arms.

"Kids need anything?" Hope asked, flipping Cloud's nose playfully before walking over to Dajh and ruffling the fluff of his afro.

"Bathroom," Dajh retorted, hopping from one foot to the other. "Dad stopped me from peeing in the pool!"

Hope almost paled and started to quickly push Dajh towards the way of the bathroom. "That's a good thing. Bathroom's over there!"

Relieved that Dajh was doing his business outside of a shared space, Hope diverted his attention back to Lightning sheepishly. She seemed mildly annoyed, but that stopped when Cloud decided to pinch her cheeks and press a sloppy kiss on her face.

"Kid spit." Hope grinned and Lightning made a funny face, wiping the slobber off her skin. "Nice."

Cloud giggled. Lightning bounced the toddler in her arms and stood in front of the window again. "Where's mom?"

Cloud pointed at Snow.

"…where's dad?"

Cloud pointed at Serah.

Hope stared. "Whoa."

"You know what? I'm not going to even ask." Cloud giggled again and squirmed in Lightning's arms. She got the hint and set the boy back down, watching him skedaddle off back outside and tackle Sahz behind the knees.

Hope's brows furrowed. "Should we be worried?"

Shrugging, Lightning retrieved the bottle of sunblock from the counter and twisted the top off. "Only if he continues doing that once he's five. Otherwise, I'd have to wonder."

Hope crossed his arms over his chest and watched her curiously, the worried frown he wore turning into a smile. "You're actually going out there, huh?" Lightning shrugged again and response, spreading the lotion onto her arms and shoulders real quick. "Need help?"

Hesitance took over. She was one to burn under the sun in a not-so-good way; she could remember the aches and the skin peels she succumbed to during their adventures in Gran Pulse. When able, she was always cautious enough to put on at least one layer of sunscreen - the sun wasn't always a kind friend. She could spread it everywhere except the areas she couldn't reach, namely her back, and she thought of getting Serah to do it for her. Serah was more than distracted, however, and she didn't like Lebreau enough to let her do it despite being the same gender.

Hope seemed nervous, expecting a verbal response. He was caught off guard when she just tossed him the bottle - which he clumsily caught - and turned around, pulling her hair away from her neck. "Hurry up."

He obediently lathered his hands up with the lotion, wondering exactly why he even volunteered to do this. He was more than thankful that her bare back was turned to him, only because he couldn't bare to have her see him with a blushing face. He rubbed the sun block into her skin, making sure there were no creamy streaks going across her back.

"Shit, I need to peeeeeeeeeeeee!" Right when Maqui barged in, doing the I-need-to-hold-my-pee-in-dance, Hope jumped back completely startled and his face instinctively reddened.

Lightning, on the other hand, coolly turned her head to Maqui, raising an eyebrow.

"Where's the bathroooooo--Hope? Why's your face red?" Just as Maqui said that, Hope cursed under his breath and his face reddened even more brightly. At the announcement, Lightning glimpsed at Hope briefly to witness the redness of his face before pointing the way to the bathroom.

"Bathroom. Go. Dajh is still in there."

Hope still didn't respond. Lightning's look was about to change into something murderous in a split second. Valuing his manhood and possibly life, he nodded and sprinted towards the bathroom, knocking on the door loudly. "Hurry up! I've gotta pee!"

"Shut up!" They all heard Dajh exclaim. "I'm on the pooper!"

Snorting, Lightning nudged the still embarrassed Hope, willfully ignoring the fact that his cheeks were heated up. "Let's go outside."

"_Please._"

* * *

Being around everyone wasn't as bad as Lightning thought it'd be. Everyone had their own amusing antics - whether it was Snow and Gadot expressing what they all called "bromance" to each other in shouts, to Cloud and Dajh being adorable and playing with the chocobo, to Sahz trying to teach every one else to break dance. Lightning and Serah were often side by side, chatting along, but Lightning remained dry and sitting down while everyone else splashed around.

"Not going in, huh?" Hope flopped next to her, towel-drying his hair. The rest of his body dripped in clear salt water.

"Nope," was her simple answer. She was perfectly okay with laying around with sunglasses shielding her eyes.

"Not even for a bit?"

"No."

Hope pouted.

"Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis." At the whine, Lightning groaned when she saw Snow approach with his lower lip jutting out and trying to look adorable. She lowered her sun glasses to purposely reveal the unsympathetic glare she had on just for him, but he ignored it, and waved around a pitchfork. "Can you go on grill duty? I wanna swim!"

Lightning said nothing.

"…please?"

No response. Hope was looking back and forth at them.

"_Pretty _please?"

Nothing.

Frustrated, Snow stomped his foot and sighed. "_Fine_. I'm in love with Gadot."

Satisfied, Lightning began to stand up. Snow excitedly took off his apron and handed it over to her, along with the pitchfork and bounded off, jumping into the pool with a gigantic splash. Despite what just happened, Lightning said nothing and tied the apron around herself while Hope sat there, completely baffled.

"Um, what?"

"I just like hearing him say it," Lightning confessed with a smirk. She went over to the grill with Hope following her - he might as well keep her company. "Serah sometimes has nightmares that those two run away together into the sunset with how close they are."

"For some disturbing reason, it's really easy to see that."

Once the meat she was working on was served, they decided to give the grill a break, already having a plethora of other foods laid out on the table. The men were the first to dig in, of course, with the few women watching them in mesmerized disgust as they feasted. Cloud was napping with the grown-up chocobo, nestled comfortably into its stomach.

"Men," Lebreau grumbled with slight distaste. "They can be so…so…"

"Manly?" Serah contributed with a wince.

Lightning rolled her eyes. "You mean gross. It's okay to be blunt, Serah."

Serah couldn't help but laugh softly. "They're just being guys."

Most of them were crowded around the table, but Hope was the survivor that managed to squeeze out of the throng of ravenous beasts holding two plates - one being handed over to Lightning. "You're the one grilling last. You should at least eat _something._"

Lightning had to admit to herself that she seemed mildly surprise, but she uttered a small "thanks," both of them sitting down next to each other to dig in with plastic forks and bare hands. With wide eyes at first, Lebreau and Serah exchanged glances before their eyes glared at their respective mates.

"Why don't _they_ get us our plates?!"

"Yeah!" Serah agreed, shaking her little fist. "I'm the mother of his child!"

Deciding it'd be better to watch instead of interfering, Hope and Lightning were content enough to watch the two approach the towering mammoths that were Gadot and Snow, each girl yelling at them with crossed arms while both men looked utterly and absolutely confused and frightened at the same time.

"Sucks to be them," Hope said in between bites, not bothered at all by the domestic violence the two couples were exhibiting - courtesy of the females. Lightning nodded in agreement and finished her plate, setting it to the side. "You know, for someone who owns a pool, you really don't use it."

"I think someone peed in it."

"You think?" Hope stared at the water cautiously and then looked at suspecting culprits. "I think they'd be too scared to defile your pool like that."

Lightning watched the pool water in concentration, wrinkling her nose. "Don't exactly trust them. Especially Snow. He might think he can get away with it just because he married my sister. And I _really_ don't want t--_what the_?!"

Lightning had become much too trusting, and was caught off guard quite easily. Without even noticing, Hope had stealthily moved and snuck up behind her, his strong arms wrapping around her to pin her arms securely to her sides and lift her up. Her legs were kicking above water and she struggled like a wild cat, giving Hope the trouble he expected she would.

"Hope--_I will kill you!_"

Her shrill screaming had caught the attention of _everyone_. Serah's gasp was loud and most of the guys were cheering Hope on, while Sahz moved his hands around his mouth, shouting, "You gonna die, Hope! You gonna _die!_"

"Right on, Hope!"

"Be gentle with her!" Serah yelled.

"Sorry, Light!" There was a bit of guilt, but that was completely washed away. She needed some excitement. "I'm not letting you be the only dry one out of us!"

Instead of just throwing her in by herself, Hope leapt off the edge and both of them fell with a voluminous splash. And with the rest already riled up, most of the guys followed with their own canon balls. Sahz, being one of the few that stayed on land, shook his head with a sigh.

"They're _all _gonna die," he said with a sage nod, already foreshadowing all the violence that would ensue once Lightning emerged from the watery depths of the pool.

* * *

"Traitor."

"You _still_ had fun," Hope insisted with a hint of smugness. The party was over and it was late. Serah had gone through with her word and had Snow and Sahz clean everything up, making sure everything was as spotless as they first arrived. When everyone was gone and the house was finally quiet, Hope and Lightning gathered in the living room, curling up on the couch in exhaustion. "You laughed."

"Hmph."

"You _did._"

"Shut up."

Everyone was convinced that Lightning would commit murder once she spat all the water out after surfacing, but everyone was genuinely surprised when Hope continued to live - even Hope itself. She seemed irritated, but a good chunk of the irritation was to mask the mild amusement she felt throughout the entire thing. She did, however, wrestle Hope into submission in the pool to assert dominance and make himself look like a fool in front of everyone. He figured he deserved that.

Deciding to back off, even though he knew he was right, Hope sunk into the couch more and yawned tiredly. "Long day, though."

"You're sunburned."

"I am?"

"I wouldn't be saying that if you weren't. It's on your face." She saw his green eyes go cross-eyed a little to get a glimpse of his nose, and he could see the tint of pinkness that was not there before. "Should have put some sun block on."

"I _guess_." No, he should have, because he had a feeling his shoulders and back were going to hurt more than he would like them to.

Lightning uncoiled herself and got off the couch, stretching. "I'm going to bed. I've got work tomorrow."

Hearing that disappointed him, mostly because he didn't even have class tomorrow, so he would be alone. Trying to suppress a discouraged frown, he slowly sat up to follow her. "But you did have fun…right?" His voice sounded unsure.

The uncertainty of his voice caught her off guard, and she almost thought she wouldn't even have to say it. "Of course I did, stupid," she replied softly, offering a half-smile. "I guess I did need to unwind."

Hearing that relieved him, and he returned the smile. Chuckling, Lightning approached him and pressed her fist against his bare chest gently. "If I didn't have fun, you'd be missing a couple of teeth."

"I figured." Hope rolled his eyes, the smile never leaving. "Forgive me then?"

"I _guess_," Lightning grumbled out with bogus irritability. Her knuckles lingered against his chest, and the mask of annoyance had somehow phased into one of serious contemplation. Not like the transition was obvious, but Hope seemed a little confused when she emitted silence, even though he had a feeling she wanted to say something.

"Why didn't you tell me you met Ash?"

If there was one thing he didn't think she would ask him right there, right now, was _that._ At first her eyes didn't meet his, but her head slowly rose and her eyes narrowed into slits, expectantly awaiting an answer. In contrast, Hope's eyes had widened in momentary shock from her question, and he wasn't sure how he should respond. He first completely forgot about Ash - up until he mentioned him to Serah, and Serah spilled the beans about Lightning's _interesting_ history with him. He was almost entirely sure that Serah did _not_ mention anything to her older sister, so there was only one way she could have found out - Ash himself. And the thought of him left a bad taste in his mouth.

He reeled what possible answers to give her through his head before answering carefully, picking his words with caution. "Honestly? I forgot." It wasn't a complete lie. "I didn't speak to him much. Seemed nice, though." Hope attempted his best to act innocent and blinked at her, well-acted confusion engulfing his features. "Why?"

His stomach sunk a little when her expression didn't change and his heart rate raced faster than usual. She let out a small "hmm," and cocked her head to the side just barely before letting her shoulders shrug. "Just wondering. He mentioned you."

"Yeah?" Hope _tried_ not to seem too eager, and he wished he could just turn away from Lightning for the rest of the conversation. But she was sharp and would zone in on something out of character.

When her expression _did_ change, he could see an inkling of unease; and the way her body fidgeted gave Hope the feeling that she was uncomfortable. "In passing. Did he tell you anything?"

There was one thing Hope could think of. "About?"

"Me?"

He thought right. "Not really. Just that he knew you." The act of obliviousness was his best friend. "Should he had said something else…?"

"No."

"Then what's with the question?"

Lightning didn't expect such a simple question to dumbfound her; there was something about the way he asked it that made her brow rise. She trusted Ash when he said he told Hope nothing about their personal affairs - their little physical fling - but Lightning was beginning to get an uncomfortable, awkward inkling of Hope knowing something and trying to hide it from her purposely. It could be just a quick rush of paranoia, of course - there was no way of Hope knowing. And if he did, so _what_? Lightning was independent and her choices were her own, and her personal life belonged simply to her. It was what she had told Serah all along, even though she knew that Serah disproved of it plain as day.

She would suspect Hope would disprove of it, too, but the idea of _him_ knowing her dirty little secrets gave her a faint feeling of disgust; something she hadn't felt in a long time. To her, there was nothing wrong with what she was doing. She did it time to time, nothing often, and did it safely. Men did it, other women did it, it wasn't a big deal - it was just sex. Everyone did it. So _why_ did it feel so damn _weird_?

Her lack of response had him concerned. Figuring that she needed to at least _say _something, Lightning finally shook her head and uttered a small, "whatever" and turned to leave, knowing very well that her behavior would make Hope raise questions she wasn't comfortable to answer.

"You can talk to me, you know."

Lightning froze in her steps, and she came to a realization rather quickly.

_He knows._

"I know your life is your life, and you probably don't like talking about it," Hope continued boldly, watching her back. "And there's probably a lot of stuff that you…wouldn't feel comfortable talking to me about, but…"

_Shit. How did he find out--?_

"I'm not a kid anymore."

_Whatever. It's not like it's a big deal. Serah knows._

"So…yeah," was his genius conclusion.

Lightning brought a hand up rub her it down her face, sighing for what seemed the millionth time today. He knew, and she was convinced that maybe Ash bullshitted her after all. "I know you're not a kid, Hope." Her words came out succinct, but her voice quiet, and if it weren't for the lack of noise in the house, he probably wouldn't have heard her.

"Hard to tell sometimes," he confessed, the corner of his lips forming a melancholic smirk. That made Lightning actually turn to stare at him a little. "I don't know. I feel like I'm always going to be a kid - especially in your eyes."

"You're _not,_" she insisted with a hiss.

"You're telling me that so I can feel better, Light. I don't need it."

She made the sound of a bitter snort and fully faced him, hands on her hips. "Who the hell are you to tell me why I'm saying things? I've always been honest with you, Hope. I don't sugar coat. Not even for you."

One of the first things Lightning had ever subjected Hope to was brutal honesty - the type that was so harsh that it burned deep into your feelings, even though the truth was spoken. When they had gotten closer, she had become more gentle and tolerant, but she still didn't sugar coat. Regardless, that was never Lightning's style, and he knew that.

"Look," he began, pinching the bridge of his nose and clenching his eyes shut for a few seconds. "Let's--let's just go to bed, okay?" He had a feeling this could be more argumentative than he was prepared for, and he didn't want to deal with it.

Lightning had trouble figuring out if he believed her or not in the end, and if he didn't, then _that_ was going to bother her the entire night. "How the hell can I prove it to you, Hope?"

_Why can't she just go to bed?_ "I'm not expecting you to prove anything, okay?" It was rare that he was ever aggravated with Lightning, but it was just one of those exceptions tonight. "Let's just go to bed. You've got work tomorrow anyway." He tried to walk pass her to his bedroom but he was halted when she grabbed his arm without even looking at him.

"Things are getting weird, aren't they?"

He wasn't exactly sure what she meant. He had an idea - the faintest of ideas that he never really tried to give much thought to, but whatever was going on, whatever "things" were, she was on to something. She had a point. "Things" were getting weird. Whatever "things" were.

Hope eventually managed to pull his arm free from her death-grip. "I…guess," he admitted, brows furrowing. He wasn't exactly sure what he was admitting to, but he was admitting to _something._ "Goodnight."

He didn't really wait for a response. Once he entered his bedroom and shut the door beside him, Lightning turned the off the light switch to the living room. "Night."


	9. Without A Permanent Scar

**Chapter IX**

_Without A Permanent Scar_

_

* * *

_

_Not too long ago…_

He couldn't say he was used to this, no. What he _was_ used to was waking up, still tangled into someone else's body after a nice long night of rest, especially after certain activities that completely emptied his stamina. There was something completely odd and different to waking up to cold space, and seeing the woman he had spent the night with in full-uniform even before the dawn broke, ready to leave. He wasn't even sure what woke him up; she was stealthy, quiet and swift and didn't make the slightest of noises.

He stretched his long limbs in bed under the covers, still comfortably in the nude. His mouth opened wide to release a beastly yawn and he slightly recoiled, watching her with sleepy eyes. "Too early to get up, you know."

"I've stayed long enough," she said quietly, tightening her belt. She wasn't exactly sure where she left her hair tie, but she just settled in leaving her hair down in a mess of paradoxically elegant waves; she had enough of them at home.

"You _can_ stay," he hinted and rolled over to his side, plopping his elbow on the pillow and holding his head up. "For breakfast. And coffee, and shit."

Ash couldn't see her face, but he noticed how her movements slowed down considerably for several seconds, almost as if she was pausing to contemplate. He saw her shoulders eventually shrug. "Not my style. I don't stay for that kind of thing."

Finally realizing what she was beginning to mean, Ash lazily raised an eyebrow and slowly sat up. "So, you're the type to just get some and leave, huh?"

"To put it in simple terms, yes."

"Not a morning cuddler either, are you?"

Lightning softly snorted. "No."

Ash tried not to pout and he let out a small "damn." He wasn't new to this kind of ordeal, no - it was natural for him to sleep around, have the occasional friends with benefits. But most of them at least cuddled and stayed for breakfast and then went on with life, and Lightning was the first person to ever turn him down. And he was known to be quite the impressive cuddler.

"You're an odd one," Ash pointed out casually.

Lightning willfully ignored him and gathered the rest of her belongings, heading out the door. "Later."

And that was it. She didn't even stay, or joke around with him, and his small attempt at persuasion utterly failed. Lightning Farron simply shagged him in his bed, woke up before the sun rose, got ready, and was about to walk out without even saying goodbye. There was no goodbye hug, or goodbye kiss. And he was used to women always wanting that.

He clicked his tongue thoughtfully. "Interesting," he murmured before lethargically plopped back onto the bed, rolling over and pulling the blankets over his head again.

And that was the first time Ash ever slept with Lightning.

* * *

It wasn't the first time, either - Ash just had to get use to her way of things, which was something he never had to do for anyone else. There was an odd friendship going on between the two and it wasn't something Lightning was particularly used to, but she shrugged it off. She had laid down the rules and regulations between them clearly and bluntly and Ash understood. And as long as he understood the whole "no strings attached" part, then she didn't mind it too much if they spoke for more than ten minutes outside of his bedroom.

But Lightning should have known better, because the whole "no strings attached" part eventually stopped meaning something to Ash, and eventually it meant nothing. Once that became clear she cut ties off immediately, but proved to be difficult when cutting ties involved a person she was forced to work and cooperate with.

She had awoken early and silently readied herself up, leaving the house even before Hope had woken up. Whatever happened last night was almost borderline surreal - she wasn't sure what was going on any more. She wasn't sure what whatever they said actually _meant_, and those "things" she was vaguely referring to during their conversation were still "things" she wasn't entirely clear of. Lightning wasn't sure what to define them with.

Reaching headquarters and hunting down Ash was something the feral in her wanted to do. Maybe break a kneecap or two, dislocate his jaw, _something_. She was sure that he must have said something to Hope. But the professional soldier in her held back; she always took pride in leaving her personal affairs away from the work place, and even if she did go through with the possible threats running through her mind, she couldn't find Ash. It was either his day off, he was busy, or he was being wise and intentionally avoiding her. She wasn't sure.

Instead of going straight home like she usually would, Lightning strayed away from her usual routine and took another turn to Bodhum's seaside, where Snow and Serah's nest of an apartment took rest. Lightning never needed a reason to visit her sister, even if she saw her and her munchkin of a son the day before, but this time she did have a reason.

She was avoiding going home just to avoid Hope.

It was childish. It was elementary. She knew it. But "things" had gotten weird, and, damnit, she wish she knew what "things" were before she even said another word to him. Grumbling and letting out other sounds of personal annoyance to herself, Lightning knocked on the door a few times. She was greeted by Snow instead of her bubbly sister, and before he even opened his mouth to greet her, she interrupted him.

"Where's Serah?"

"Hi to you too, sis," Snow said with a huff and looked as if he was offended. Lightning called bullshit without even saying anything. "She's out with Lebreau doing some girl thing, so I'm teaching Cloud how to be a man."

If Lightning was the type to break out into hysterical laughter, that would be the time to do so. She rolled her eyes and Snow stepped aside, letting her in. "Good luck with that. Any idea of when she's coming back?"

Her brother-in-law glimpsed at his wrist watch. "Soon. She left awhile ago, so she's bound to show up at some point."

"Unless she found someone else to run away with."

Snow glared at her.

Arrogantly smirking at him, she turned around and found her toddler of a nephew on the couch, sporting a pair of pull-ups and a large t-shirt and distractedly watching some television with a cookie in his chubby little fingers. "So, being a man is sitting in front of a television and getting fat off sweets."

"Pretty much," Snow joked and stuck his tongue out at her. He bounded over to his son and sat down next to him, the impact of his weight making Cloud bounce in his seat a little. "Whatcha' need Serah for, though? Or is it just one of those visits because you've realized that deep down inside, you really like me, despite all the times you've almost caused me serious and permanent facial damage?"

Lightning took the spot on Cloud's other side, and the toddler seemed completely content in ignoring her presence and getting crumbs all over himself. "What, I can't visit my sister?"

"Well, you _did_ see us yesterday…" Lightning gave him a warning look and Snow waved his hands defensively. "Not that I have nothing against seeing your…bright…and…sunny face." Her look intensified. Snow just dug himself a grave. "I should shut up, huh?"

"That would be wise."

That only succeeded for several seconds before Snow completely forgot and opened his mouth again. "So, Hope looks pretty happy with you, huh? How's school going for him?"

Lightning was expecting far too much when she told him to be quiet. "He's doing okay."

"Looks like those professors are beginning to drill him now," he continued, ruffling his son's hair. Cloud let out a small coo. "Passed by Lebreau's and I saw him with a study partner or project partner or whatever. Almost thought the boy was on a date. Man. He grew up so damn fast, yeah?"

Nothing of what Snow said caught her interest, until the word "date" was used in context with Hope. "A date?" she questioned, peering at Snow curiously.

"Oh, he's not _seriously_ on a date. At least, he just told me the chick he was with was some partner in a project for one of his classes. Maqui and Yuj have the same class, but they're procrastinating like crazy last I heard. He didn't say anything to you?"

"…No."

Snow blinked. "Oh."

_Awkward._

"And they were just studying," Lightning casually brought up as a confirmation, not a question. Her eyes were glued onto the television before her as if she was interested with arms crossed over her chest.

For some reason Snow was beginning to feel uncomfortable and he had no idea why. "Right," he replied slowly."

"Hn."

Hope always had a habit of telling her everything he was doing in university, even when it came to the certain stuff that she didn't care about, but at least she knew. He never mentioned a history project, never alone a history project that involved a history _partner_. He might have forgotten, or maybe--

"Oh," Lightning breathed out, her eyes widening. "Oh. _Shit."_

She was beginning to think like one of _those_ girls.

"Do you _mind_?" Lightning actually found herself being at the end of one of Snow's rare nasty glares. His large hands instantly went over his son's ears. It took her a few minutes to realize why he was giving her a look, until she glanced down and met Cloud's blinking blue eyes. "The last thing I need is Serah hearing him repeat it. He still hasn't stopped saying 'nipple' from what one time Gadot--"

"Oh. Uh. Sorry." Her brows furrowed, trouble coloring her face, and she quickly shook her head as if she was shaking something off her body. "I think I'm going to go."

Snow blinked, the glower he had dissipating in a split second. "You sure? You acted like you had an epiphany, or you forgot something. You okay?"

Lightning sighed in exasperation and stood up, dismissing him with a hand. "I'm fine. Tell Serah I'll come by some other time."

Her behavior completely baffled him. His hands fell away from Cloud's ears and he scrambled up into his feet, following a swift Lightning towards the door. "Okay, call me crazy, but you weren't acting like this two minutes ago. What gives, sis?"

Unwilling to cater to his questions, Lightning glanced at him one more time before doing him a favor and closing the door after she stepped out. "Later, Snow."

"Weirdo," Snow grumbled.

* * *

"Since we've got the research part down already…" Hope started with a small smile, closing his textbook with triumph. "All we have to worry about is the presentation part. I'm thinking screen projection. I'm…not all that artistic with cardboard and markers." The smile almost turned sheepish.

His partner couldn't help but laugh lightly, high-lighting the last of the necessary notes. "It's cool. Projection works. Cardboards can get sloppy. We can meet at the library next time, or something?" She slipped the top back on her high-lighter with a small "pop" and smiled up at Hope. "Or, if anything, my place. My sister's got some pretty sweet equipment. Projections were her saving grace in university."

Hope felt genuinely lucky for ending up with the partner he did. At the announcement of a project including partners, Maqui and Yuj immediately gravitated to each other. When that happened, Hope immediately felt abandoned and utterly shy, glancing around awkwardly until he met another person who was glancing around, equally as awkward. She was pretty in the girl-next-door sense, which was something that didn't escape the hormonal attention of Maqui and Yuj - and Hope admittedly noticed it too.

But it was normal for someone his age to notice that type of thing; she obviously was not the first girl he had ever noticed. He just refused to be as vocal about it as the other guys; that would usually end up with a broken nose, depending on who it was all said to.

He had no classes today, but he couldn't stay in the empty house the entire day. The idea of it gave him some sort of uncomfortable feeling of being suffocated, especially with how it seemed that Lightning strategically woke herself up early enough to avoid him - but that could be the paranoia talking. He wasn't sure. All he knew was that "things" were getting weird, and he wasn't sure what those "things" were that she was referring to. And part of him had the sinking feeling that Lightning herself had no idea what "things" were, either.

Desperate to go out, and fully aware that Maqui and Yuj had scheduled classes during the day, he got in contact with his partner - it was the perfect excuse to leave the house and be productive. Coincidentally enough, she had the majority of the day free. It served as an escape and an opportunity to make a new friend - he wasn't much of the extrovert.

Once their research came to an end, they started packing up their things and zipping their bags. "Maybe we can show up here again for some non-academic related coffee, or something?" she suggested, trying to come off as laidback as possible. "I don't really know much people here, and you seem…sane. I guess. Sorry--that sounded kind of weird, huh?"

Both of them laughed lightly. "It's cool. I wouldn't mind that, actually." Hope grinned crookedly. "See you in class tomorrow, then?"

"You bet!"

They exchanged awkward waves of departure and went separate ways. Hope's medium of transportation were his own two feet, and it's not like he minded. A good part of the journey back home was walking through Bodhum's shores, which was something he didn't mind. One major thing he enjoyed about Bodhum was how close in proximity he was to the beach. Palempolum was all metal and lights, and Bodhum _could_ be like that at times, but the sandy shores and the salty air distracted everyone from that.

It didn't take him long to come home, and seeing the only cruiser ever parked outside was a sign of Lightning's arrival. For once she was home before he was, and he was very hesitant in reaching for his keys and unlocking the door.

What he was greeted with was with the smell of the kitchen being used, and not by him. A pang of guilt hit him square in the chest; _he_ wanted to be the one to make her dinner, and the fact that she was making something right after she returned from work made him feel like a lazy mooch.

She didn't turn to face him when he opened the door, and not even when he hesitantly closed it behind him. He couldn't pinpoint was she was frying on a pan and what she had boiling in a pot, but it smelled good and it made his stomach rumble to life.

Hope was the first to break the verbal silence. "Hey," he greeted, his voice meek. He set his bag on the counter and sat down, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

"Hey," she retorted, more focused on poking some vegetables in the pain with a spoon to even glimpse at him. "Where'd you go?"

Twiddling his thumbs was fun. "At Lebreau's."

"With the guys?"

"With a friend," Hope clarified. Lightning let out a small "ah," nodding once in understanding. "Sorry. Wish I came back earlier to make you something. I just lost track f time."

She repressed the urge to throw something at him. "Don't be an idiot, you idiot." Hope winced. "I told you, don't feel obligated. You're here for college. Not to be my housewife."

"As much as not being a housewife should sound relieving, I still feel useless, okay?" Hope sunk into his chair, drumming his fingers against the counter. "What _are_ you making, anyway?"

She said nothing at first. His question made her looked perplexed as she pushed the vegetables across the sizzling surface in thought, thinking his question over. "Honestly? I don't even…know." Lightning hard just barged into her own kitchen, gathered some stuff and turned the stove on, having no specific cuisine in mind. It was just a different attempt to keep herself occupied, but now in retrospective, she should have thought it over.

Hope chewed on his lip. "Look, about last night--"

"Who told you?"

"Ahh--what?"

"If it was Ash, just say it." _So I can tear his arms off._ "I don't exactly appreciate it when my personal affairs are spread about." She lowered the temperature of the stove to let things simmer.

"It wasn't Ash."

Lightning looked irritated, but not at him. "What?"

Hope's eyes were locked on the spotless surface of the table, his thumbs still twiddling in anxiety. He looked ashamed, embarrassed, or _something_, but if Ash didn't say anything to him, then the only way--

_Serah._

If there was one thing, one thing that always remained constant in the dynamics of family is the persistence of a young sibling when it came to the personal affairs of their older sibling. They were often nosey, insistent, and sometimes even border lining judgmental. And despite their close relationship, Serah was no exception to the Annoying Little Sibling Rule - meddling into Big Sister's Business and having the habit of maybe accidentally blurting out information she should not be mentioning at all.

Hope didn't realize it, but he just incriminated Serah. And she was going to be in _big_ trouble.


	10. Looking for Yourself

**Chapter X**

_Looking for Yourself_

* * *

"So how mad is she, exactly?"

Serah had just received a phone call from Hope - a warning, actually. He assured her that he literally didn't even say anything to incriminate her, but Lightning had concluded exactly who his source was from the silence and by the process of elimination. She ceased whatever the heck she was cooking, telling him he could continue if he wanted, and bluntly informed him that she was going to have a sister-to-sister talk with Serah. Feeling guilty and responsible, Hope _had_ to call Serah and tell her, just in case she felt the need to lock all the windows and barricade the door. That extreme probably wouldn't even be necessary, since she didn't seem to be on a ferocious war-path, but it was more of an anger boiling under the surface.

When Serah got off the phone, she sighed and looked over to her mildly concerned husband. She didn't seem terrified or worried. Actually, she looked slightly bored. "I don't know. But she should be showing up any minute. I'm not really sure what to expect."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Snow expressed honestly with a frown. "I mean, when she found out that _I_ knew, all she said was, 'mind your own damn business, Snow' and pinched your arm for blurting it out to me." It was clear that even then Lightning was irritated by the revelation, but this time her reaction was mixed with something else he couldn't describe.

Serah bit down on her lower lip, raking her slender fingers through the curls of her ponytail. "I think…I might have a theory why she's getting so cranky about it this time." That peeked Snow's interest. "But it's just a theory," she added quickly and glanced over to the entrance of their apartment, still expecting her older sibling to barge in at any moment. "I don't know for sure."

"She _could_ just be having her monthly visit." That earned him a slap in the arm, and Snow uttered a small "ow" and rubbed his arm. "I'm joking. What's the theory, babe, 'cause I don't get it. You _do_ know Lightning better than the rest of us."

"Well…" Serah nibbled her lip nervously and took a seat by her husband, spinning around in the stool a bit. "You know how it was pretty obvious that Hope's always had a thing for Lightning, right?"

Snow rolled his eyes. "Pfft, yeah. He still probably does, come to think of it."

"Well, duh." Serah had to sometimes admit that the man she married could be a bit slow sometimes. "I think it's still there, definitely. And now that he's all grown up…"

"I'm still not seeing how this concerns your sister being bitchy about it."

Serah slapped his arm again. "Will you let me finish? I'm pretty sure that--"

There was a knock and two rings of the doorbell, and Serah and Snow both silenced themselves, their eyes directly locking onto the door. Neither of them got up from their seats.

After no response, there was another knock, and another ring.

"Well?" Snow tried to nudge Serah off her chair. "Go answer!"

Serah gave him a glare. "Thanks for feeding me to the lion."

"She's _your_ sister," he reminded her. He quickly stepped away from the room, leaving Serah all by herself to face Lightning. He knew she would be fine physically - Lightning would never punch Serah in the face like she did to everyone else. He was prepared to hear the not-so-common sister quarreling he had gotten so used to as years went by.

After watching her coward of a husband slip away, Serah grumbled something not-so-nice under her breath and walked over to the door, opening it. She came face to face to her blood and flesh; a little taller, and a bit angrier, although sometimes she wondered if Lightning's face was always like that.

"Hey," Serah greeted, her voice losing certainty. Lightning always oozed intimidation. And Serah wasn't always an exception to it. "Heard you were showing up. What's…up?"

Lightning wasn't about to waste her time with little greetings and gossip. "Why did you tell him, Serah? What I do during my spare time is _none_ of your business." Her voice dripped with suppressed anger, and she was looking at her kid sister as if she was scolding her like she did when they were younger. Serah knew that look.

Serah didn't answer directly. Instead she sighed, stomping her foot a little, and opened the door wider, accessing her sister entrance. Lightning hesitantly stepped foot inside. She figured Snow was still around, probably looking after Cloud, so it was just her and Serah.

"It was when he first told us he met Ash," Serah began and closed the door. "And you know what my opinion is already. I was just kind of on a roll, and ranted. It's not like I had the entire thing planned, Lightning." She wasn't about to test her waters by calling her "Claire" - Claire was only used privately and when she was in a decent mood. "I'm sorry."

Serah's voice became soft and quiet when she voiced her apology. It almost made Lightning feel guilty with all the irritation directed at her, but the keyword there was "almost." Serah was her sister and she loved her sister infinitely, but she couldn't let Serah get away with this with just a slap on her hand. Lightning was a fully capable and grown woman, and she could easily point out all the personal flaws and mistakes Serah was guilty for, but she didn't.

"Sorry won't cut it this time, Serah." The suppressed anger began leaking into her words more. "You've opened your mouth before, and now a second time, and _damnit,_ Serah, no matter what I tell you, you're just going to keep babbling on about it and how much it annoys _you._ But that's too damn bad, because guess what? If it annoys you so much, that's a _you_ problem. You're not the one living with the choices I make, and Hope as hell didn't need to know."

Serah let out a shaky laugh but tried to stand her ground, her small hands curling into fists. "You say you're not ashamed and your decisions are your own, so what does it matter if Hope knows? After all, you having _nothing_ to be ashamed of, right, Claire?"

"It's the principle of the--"

"No, it's _not the principle of the thing_," Serah forced out between gritted teeth, finishing what she knew Lightning would say. Now both of them were exchanging glares, completely unaware of the slither of trench coat coming from behind the wall. "Let's face it. You're just mad at me because the person I told was _Hope._ You're mad at me because you didn't want _Hope_ knowing. It all goes back to _Hope_, Claire!"

Her outburst had taken her off guard; she wasn't expecting much of Hope to be even involved in this entire argument. The way Serah just kept mentioning his name simply built up a sense of more uncomfortable anger. "What the hell are you getting at, Serah?" she hissed, gripping the edge of the counter.

"You wouldn't react this way if I told Sahz, or Lebreau, or, heck--even Gadot." Her voice lowered from her little outburst and Serah breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself. "Look, it's okay if you've got some confused feelings about--"

"Now you're just jumping the gun, Serah!" Lightning threw her arms up in the air in frustration, stopping Serah right then and there before she said something Lightning was _not_ ready to hear. "I'm not confused about _anything._ Nothing. Just who the hell do you think you are assuming things like that?!"

Serah calmly raised an eyebrow. "So, you can honestly tell me, right now, that you're not getting these new fuzzies for a fully-grown, adult Hope. That you won't feel conflicted doing what you usually do now that Hope has a good idea of why you come home in the wee hours in the morning. If you can honestly say all that to me, then, my bad, Claire."

Lightning was about to open her mouth to righteously defend herself, but nothing came out.

Serah tried to keep a straight face.

Perplexed, Lightning attempted to open her mouth again and verbalize just exactly what she thought to her sister in a way that would clearly express her infuriation, but all that came out were muddled sounds and things that could vaguely sound like words.

Serah had done it.

She had reduced her intimidating, independent, no-nonsense sister into a speechless puddle of confusion and defeat. Even Snow, who was eavesdropping from behind the wall, was utterly and completely surprised how the argument had ended; with Serah right and victorious and Lightning without the ability to form a string of coherent words.

"It's okay to feel confused, alright?" Serah spoke soothingly to her troubled sister, who still couldn't come up with anything succinct to say. She took a hesitant step towards Lightning, whose face was a mixture of confusion, fear, and an odd hint of disgust and bewilderment. "I don't think you've ever had…the, you know, _fuzzies_ for someone, unless you've never told me. But, um…"

"He's _younger_ than me," Lightning blurted out and looked at her hands, her eyes wide. Serah blinked a few times.

"But he's legal!" she contributed positively. "And the age gap is pretty much the same with Snow and I, come to think of it."

"There's a _label_ for women like me."

Serah almost found it funny how astonished and lost her sister seemed; it was rare to ever see her like this, even for her. "I'm pretty sure you'd have to be fifty years older to be considered a cougar, Lightning. _It's okay._ Trust me."

Serah's constant reassurance just didn't reassure her. At all. Instead, she just rubbed her temple like she had a migraine and groaned, pushing past her. "I'm going."

Serah frowned. "Where? It really _is_ going to be okay, you know."

"I'm going to hopefully drink this conversation away, and try to forget that it _ever_ happened." Before Serah could stop her, Lightning opened the door stepped out, leaving an anxious little sister behind.

Serah watched the door and bit her nails whilst Snow revealed himself, approaching behind her with a thoughtful look. "_Now_ I understand where you were getting at earlier. Damn. Never saw that one coming."

"Don't tell her you heard anything, okay?" Lightning would kill them both. "I should probably call Hope. I've got the feeling she's going to Lebreau's."

"On the bright side, your sister can drink any guy twice her size under the table, so by the time he shows up, she'll be on her fourth drink and still oddly sober!" Snow's brand of optimism in this situation was very much not appreciated it. Serah jabbed her elbow into his side, and Snow then concluded that she was hanging around her sister way too much lately.

* * *

Serah's hesitance in elaborating just what exactly happened worried Hope to no end. All that was revealed to him was that the argument was slightly more upsetting than it was intended to be, and all he knew was that Lightning was headed over at Lebreau's and Serah was largely uncomfortable with the idea of her being alone right now. Not that Lightning would do anything regrettable, except for maybe cause a bar fight depending on how much she downed. It took no persuasion for Hope to get ready and put the leftovers of Lightning's spontaneous culinary project away. He slipped on a jacket and turned off the lights, locking the door behind him.

With the pace he was going, it didn't take him long to reach the shores of Bodhum, but to his reality it felt like forever. The sun had just finished setting and the sky had mostly darkened, but still held the faint trace of the sun's orange and red tincture. All the lights of the shops had turned on, and when he saw Lebreau's familiar café come into view, his pace quickened considerably.

Lightning wasn't hard to fine. The bar top was plain in view, and she had her back to him. Lebreau was the farthest away from her, and he figured Lightning had made it very obvious that she didn't feel like being social. She had a full-drink in her hands, something that was barely untouched, and she seemed more interested in pushing the cubes of ice with her straw.

He waited a few seconds for his heartbeat to reach its regular pace and finished catching his breath before cautiously approaching her. He wasn't about to surprise her; he had a feeling that if he startled her, he would end up at the wrong end of her infamous fist.

He slowly pulled a stool to sit on it and caught Lightning glimpsing at him quickly; she saw enough to know it was him.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice seemed bland.

Hope hesitated before responding. At this rate, when it came to Lightning, honesty was the best policy. "Serah called me," he explained, sitting himself down next to her. "Said something about how you two got into a fight and she said she figured you'd come here. She's afraid you'll get drunk and get into a bar fight, or something."

His words came out a little nervously and for some reason, it made a small smile on her face. "I thought about it. But then I realized that I'm an expensive drunk, and it'll take eight of these for me to get to that point."

Hope's first response was a small "oh," and then followed by silence from the both of them. She slowly took a sip from her glass and Hope glanced around, as if he was making sure no one would listen in on them.

"So…what happened?"

Lightning shrugged. "I'll tell you later."

"Are you really going to tell me later, or are you just saying that so I'll forget while I wait?"

She gave him an odd look. His own stare had a stubborn edge to it. "I'll tell you later, okay? Not now. I promise."

Some tension left his body, but he was still a little uncertain. "Okay."

She took another sip of her drink.

"I'm sorry," he said, earning another odd look. "I know it was none of my business, and--"

"It's okay."

"I don't like him."

That was a random blurt. Lightning snorted at his confession, watching the ice move around her drink. "That's okay too. We're not involved anymore."

Hearing that coming from her made him more relieved than he had ever been. "Okay."

"How's the piercing?" Lightning's inquiry was random. It was a small attempt to take their conversation to a new direction.

Hope brushed his bangs away from his eyebrow. "S'fine. Doesn't hurt anymore. I can change it out in a couple of weeks."

"We can go shopping for a new one, or something," she suggested with a light shrug, avoiding his eyes. Hope noticed but didn't point it out. "I might get a new one for mine."

"Can I pay for this one?" Hope asked, his lips quirking into a teasing smirk as he referred to the day she paid for his piercing - without even giving him a say.

"You got icecream last time."

"It was just _icecream_," Hope emphasized and bumped into her playfully. He made her chuckle. "Or I can just do what you did and hand over the gil before you even reach for yours."

"Isn't tell me what you're planning to do kind of counter-productive?"

She had a point.

Hope pouted. "Damn."

He thought he would find her raging; pissed off beyond comfort. Or at least cranky and annoyed. But she didn't come across anything angry. She was actually smiling and laughing a little with him and it made him much more curious about what went on between her and Serah. It was still relieving, though; he wasn't sure what to expect from Lightning sometimes.

"Mmm…wanna get out of here?" Her drink was no where near finished. She already paid for it, though, and she could care less about it at the moment. She looked over at Hope, whom slowly responded with a nod.

Both of them rose to their feet and Hope's hand found itself hesitantly placed against her mid-back as they walked out of the café. "Yeah. Let's go home."

"Lame. The moment I show up, is when you two look like you're leaving." Of course, they couldn't go home on a happy-note while they were in a good mood. Something _had_ to just happen, didn't it? And that something just happened to be Ash in his tall, dark and handsome glory with a pearly-white grin. "How about we get a round of drinks? It'll be on me, I promise." His offer was genuine, but the closeness between the two definitely did not go unnoticed.

Both of them were rendered speechless, different thoughts going through their mind. Lightning was just beginning to think how Ash just happened to have the _worst time in existence_, while Hope quietly contemplated how opposed Lebreau would be to a brawl if the situation called for it, depending how things went right there.

Either way, with Ash's blaring presence, Lightning's wary demeanor, and Hope's growing protective streak when it came to someone he was beginning to consider _his,_ things would sure turn out to be interesting that night.


	11. Soul Vacation

**Chapter XI**

_Soul Vacation_

_

* * *

_

"So…" Serah began, looking incredibly perplexed. Her foot tapped against the marble tile of her kitchen as she sat across from Lebreau, whom was casually sipping a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. "There…wasn't…a bar fight?" She carefully uttered those words, almost as if the concept of the lack of violence was too much for her mind to fully comprehend.

In response, Lebreau gave a sage nod.

"I don't know if I should be relieved, or simultaneously scared _and_ worried my sister didn't let her fists fly in that situation," Serah confessed. The day after Lebreau herself witnessed the face-to-face confrontation Lightning, Ash, and Hope had, she had to immediately contact Serah and give her the details. She knew she would be curious. Serah herself was worried about what happened. She didn't hear of any violent brawl breaking out near the shores of Bodhum, so she was anxious to hear what Lebreau had seen.

However, Serah had to genuinely admit she was almost disappointed with a dash of befuddled surprise into the mix.

"I mean, it wasn't a violent confrontation or anything. Lightning didn't let it get that far." Lebreau's shoulders shrugged, letting the flash of events that took place the previous night occupy her memory. "Hope raised his voice, then Ash did, and then Lightning did what she always does - scare the living crap out of men - and that was it. They hardly exchanged any words. No cliché fighting for the girl's love or anything. I was kind of disappointed."

Snorting, Serah rose to her feet and piled up the empty breakfast plates. "I almost wish one of them would break that guy's nose." That "guy" was, of course, Ash. Serah had always made her dislike of him as obvious as the daylight in the morning.

Lebreau, on the other hand, was on the opposite side of that fence. "He's not that bad, Serah. He's actually a pretty decent guy - and don't give me that look, because I _do_ know." The woman wrinkled her nose and quickly emptied her glass of juice before continuing. "You know how women confide to their hairdressers? Well, men confide in their bartenders. Same thing. You can't hate him just because he rolled in bed with your sister a couple of times."

"I can and I do," Serah retorted with an indignant huff. She twisted the knob of the sink and let the water spill onto the dirtied plates, and frustration was leaked by the way she scrubbed her silverware in righteous fury. "My sister is _not_ a piece of meat and-"

"Your _sister_ is a grown woman," Lebreau freely chided, a mocking song coming out of her words. Serah's mouth opened to hash out a reply, but she couldn't come up with a retort so she just remained silent and pouting. "It takes two to tango, and your sister knew exactly what she was doing. Plus, I think Ash really does have something fuzzy for her. You know, the warm, kind of butterfly fuzzies."

"If he has the warm fuzzies for her, then why didn't he just do the normal thing and buy her flowers and ask her on a date?"

Lebreau raised an eyebrow. "This _is_ Lightning we're still talking about, right?"

"…okay, replace the flowers with a nice knife and a new pair of combat boots."

"Besides, I don't think Ash expected to get the _warm fuzzies_ for her." Lebreau clicked her tongue in thought, a sly grin etching her face. "I mean, he's a pretty good looking guy. I'd go for him."

Serah gave her a look that almost crossed the line of menacing.

"…you know, if Gadot wasn't the apple of my eye, or something like that." Lebreau cleared her throat nervously. "But, anyway, I just don't think he's as big of a scum as you paint him out to be, and you _have_ to admit that you're mostly biased because it's _Lightning._"

Serah said nothing to that and continued to clean her dishes with her lower lip puckered into a pout.

"_Serah._"

In defeat, she tossed her soapy hands into the air. "Okay, okay, _fine, _whatever." She couldn't really come up with a valid argument once her friend decided to conveniently point out her blatant bias. "Even if he started showing up at her doorstep with knives and boots, he probably still doesn't even have a chance. Her mind's made up about him."

"He's not going to stalk her or anything creepy, okay?" Lebreau tried to reassure her, but Serah was hard to convince in this situation. "You don't have to freak so bad. It's not a big deal, and again, this whole…_thing_," she started emphasizing the concept of "thing" with eccentric hand motions, "is between two grown adults. Sex isn't always about love and making babies. It's a lapse of passion, or a way of blowing off steam, or-"

"I know, I know." Serah interrupted her with an aggravated sigh. She turned the faucet water off and dried her hands with a dish towel. Serah wasn't naïve, even though that was the common opinion - she knew the affairs of the bedroom were not strictly limited to married couples in love or even people in a relationship in general. But part of her irrationally wanted it to be something special for her sister, just like it was for her. "Thank you…for coming to tell me. I was worried when she left."

Despite Serah's crestfallen face, Lebreau's lips tried to form a comforting smile. She approached her tiny friend, reaching over to squeeze her damp hand reassuringly. "It's no problem, you know. Just…try not to worry so much, okay?"

Serah tried to return the smile. "I know. She…just won't be talking to me for awhile, you know?"

"Lightning?" Serah nodded and Lebreau rubbed her chin in contemplation before eventually letting her shoulders roll into an indifferent shrug. "It'll pass. I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, it's just Hope."

Serah tried not to wince. "Yeah…just Hope."

Lightning didn't know that Lebreau knew, and possibly even Gadot, because Serah was convinced that Lightning would simply go on something equivalent to a dragon going into rage. She had made it succinct to Serah that she definitely did not want her business to be aired out like wet laundry, but it was a little too late for that.

Serah just hoped her sister would never notice that other people noticed, too.

* * *

"Hey, I've gotta head out, okay?" Hope was hurrying putting his shoes on and sloppily tying the laces into a tight knot so he wouldn't trip over himself, and he clumsily gathered his belongings into his school backpack. Classes let out a couple hours ago and Lightning had the day off, so she gave him a questioning look when he announced his departure. "I have to meet up with my partner for my history project."

Lightning's initial response was a small "oh." It was the first time he ever mentioned the likes of a school project to her, even when it felt like he almost told her every single gritty detail about his day. But she wasn't ignorant to the fact, either, thanks to Snow, who supplied her with the information of this so-called partner.

It wasn't a big deal. It was a school project that required a partner, and the logical, expected thing that had to be done was that the partners meet up and discuss their school work. That was protocol. That was procedure. But the fact that Hope had neglected to tell her that kind of information himself, and the fact that she found out about it from Snow who just _happened_ to see them, gave her an odd, uncomfortable feeling in her chest. It was mild annoyance mixed with something she delightfully did not feel like labeling.

"I won't be out too late, though!" Hope always had the habit of telling her information she didn't need or require of him. But she was used to it, and just pretended to simply ignore him and acted like she was engrossed in a book. "If I am, well, I'll call you, or something."

Her response, again, was nothing highly verbal. This time she gave a careless shrug, licking her thumb and flipping to the next page.

Hope took note of her unwillingness to actually _speak._ Frowning, he slipped his hands into the arms of his jacket and zipped it up a little. "I guess I'll see you tonight, then? Do you want me to pick us up some dinner?"

"That won't be unnecessary."

The frown remained, but at least that time she actually _said_ something. "You sure?"

"Don't worry about dinner and focus on your project, understood?" Her tone was edged with a hint of irritation that did not slip by him. She had been tense and increasingly cranky ever since the events of the day before, with the quarrel she had with Serah and the tension that had risen to the surface when crossing paths with Ash. She did _not_ go to bed happy and awoke the same way, possibly a bit colder as the day went on.

He nodded obediently. Hope wasn't going to test her with trying to even continue the already dead conversation. He grabbed the strap of his backpack and quickly went over to the door, and Lightning could clearly hear the twist of the knob and the opening of the front door.

And she expected to hear a clear and clean close, too, but instead she heard a soft, feminine voice; one that she knew all too well. "Hey, ah, sorry! You're just leaving, Hope?"

_Serah._

"Oh, yeah," Lightning heard Hope say sheepishly. "She's in the living room. Gotta go-meeting up with a partner for school work. I'll see you later!"

Hope's quick footsteps faded, and new feet entered the house after she heard her sister close the door. Lightning still refused to even glance up, keeping her eyes glued to the pages and scanning the printed words, even though she did not process a single sentence. Her ears could hear the steps grow louder and she knew that Serah was now standing in the same room she sat in, comfortable in her seat.

It wasn't until several moments had passed that Lightning let her gaze stray from the pages and lock on her sister, who stood silently, nervously wringing her petite hands. She had said nothing. Neither of them had. But Serah was waiting for Lightning to at _least_ acknowledge her. She could easily sense quiet anger ooze from her and Serah figured she was at least smarter than her husband when it came to testing out Lightning's infamous ice-cold temper.

Their eyes met and Serah offered an uneasy smile. Lightning offered her no welcoming gesture. She closed her book with a soft "thump" and set it on the end table next to her, slipping the reading glasses she rarely ever wore off her nose and to the side.

"What are you doing here?" was Lightning's welcome, her face remaining an empty, blank slate.

"You won't return my calls," Serah replied meekly, biting her lip. "And-and I figured, if I wanted to actually talk to you, I might as well come over."

Lightning's brow rose slowly, not verbalizing her expectation of an elaboration. Lucky for Serah, she had lived and observed her sister throughout the years to be literate in the ways of reading Lightning's expressions or gestures.

Serah, however, was getting the face that tugged at the strings of Lightning's heart. "I just-I just don't want you angry at me. I love you too much to let something like this get in the way."

_Even though I know I'm right_, was the one thing she knew to _not_ say in the presence of Lightning.

Serah raked her mind, trying to come up with another string of words to say, _something_, because Lightning continued to stare at her wordlessly; almost as if she was examining each blood vessel and bone under her skin. This time her expression was blank and unreadable which did not help Serah's case. She knew Lightning enough to know that that could either be a good thing, or potentially a very bad thing, and she was afraid of it meaning a _very bad thing._

But in Lightning's case, this was _Serah._ All she was doing was being an unnecessarily pesky and aggravating little sister - she knew how to complete the duties of that role in sheer perfection at this point. There was no doubt that Lightning could never, ever be perpetually angry at her baby sister, unless Serah somehow went crazy and killed her kitten.

But, on the bright side, Lightning had no kitten so it was redundant.

"From this point on," Lightning began, her voice full of authority. It made the hairs on Serah's skin become erect and goose bumps rise on her arms. She straightened her posture, trying not to gulp. "You will not air what is _my_ business to anyone else. You won't ask me any other questions. You _will_ keep your nose out of my damn business, you hear?"

Serah nodded to express understanding. Lightning's eyes narrowed.

"And you're wrong," Lightning sternly finished, her stare almost daring Serah to challenge her.

Although highly reluctant, it took Serah several moments to slowly nod her head; she was just doing exactly what her sister wanted her to do, even though part of her wanted to scream otherwise. Serah wasn't going to push Lightning. It wasn't worth all the fighting or the anger boiling in between them. She loved her sister too much to be fighting over this type of thing. And even though Serah yearned to help and try to punch any other men with her dainty hands to keep them away from Lightning, she had to take a step back.

And even though Serah was thoroughly convinced that she had hit something potentially important when it came to Hope and Lightning, the safest thing was to back off from that as well. Lightning had a slip of momentary vulnerability that day; a shocking personal epiphany that she wanted to cover up and bury, and she wanted to make sure Serah locked it, buried it, and throw away the key too.

"Still too annoyed for a hug though?" Serah asked hopefully.

"Very."

She was going to respect her personal space. "Understood," Serah responded with a soft smile. "I love you, sis."

Lightning's faux act of annoyance was a roll of her eyes and returned her attention to the book. Serah's smile never left, though; she knew it would be okay between them. She didn't need Lightning to respond with words, because she knew that her big sister loved her too.

Even _if_ she was an annoying pain in the ass.

* * *

By the next week, Lightning found herself called to the headquarters of her direct superior - Lieutenant Amodar.

"You can cut it with the standing at the saluting, Farron," he said with a hearty laugh. Lightning blinked quickly and ceased from saluting, keeping her arms firmly placed on her sides. "Sit, will you? I've got a few things to discuss with you."

Lightning wasn't sure what he could discuss with her; she hadn't done anything illegal, had she? She slowly took a seat and ran through recent memories. The only thing she could possibly think of would be her personal problems with a colleague, but those weren't even serious, and if the whole Guardian Corps knew about that, then she'd be _damned_-

"You're aware of the summit coming up soon, right?" he started, sitting down across from her with his metal desk between them. His office was only used for private, necessary confrontations; he was almost always out and about. Lightning nodded and Amodar continued. "Pulse. We've had troops and scientists examine the place. See if there's source of human life, or find new species of life. It's been a slow process."

Lightning still wasn't sure where this was all going.

Amodar sighed and rubbed his face, leaning back into the back of his chair. "We've had some instances with the beasts there, and even though we've been there for two years now, the land is still wild and foreign."

Her eyes began to slightly widen.

_Oh._

"My superiors have requested that I send someone that's more…familiar with the area there, you know?"

"Oh," was all she said.

"It wouldn't be for long, though," he assured her quickly, something that seemed almost like guilt washing over his face. "Not that I don't trust your capabilities; your guts are in the right place and your instincts are keen. If there's one person who can give them a hand, it's you."

"But I didn't-didn't even stay there long."

"That's what _I_ told them, but…" He shrugged. 'They still want you out there."

"Let me understand this completely," Lightning said, inhaling deeply. "They're not asking me as a favor. They're giving me an order through you, correct?"

Amodar offered her a weak smile. "Unfortunately."

He didn't seem to want to ask her, but he couldn't refuse his superiors, either. Getting Lightning her former job back had proved troublesome, especially after her infamous history of formerly being a l'Cie and on the run from the very soldiers she worked for. They had kept an eye on her and she had successfully kept herself out of trouble; she had a sterling record for the most part.

Except for completely annihilating a handful of their troops, of course, but that was an unnecessarily complicated issue, and one of the reasons why they had held off in promoting her through the ranks any further - it was an indirect, passive-aggressive punishment.

Lightning tried not to sigh. "For how long?"

"They said a few months, and I'm holding them to it." Amodar reached over and pulled over a floating technological device. He pressed a holographic button, allowing it to project the image of a keyboard, and he started typing information in at a fast pace. "I'll get you the paper work as soon as possible. They didn't give me much of a warning, either."

Lightning watched his fingers move. "And when am I supposed to be departing?"

"You've got two weeks," he confessed, furrowing his eyebrows at the screen before him. "Yeah, two weeks. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Lightning responded, although her words came out unsure.


	12. Through the Constellations

**Chapter XII**

_Through the Constellations_

_

* * *

_

The lights were off when she came back home, but there was evidence of Hope's presence. She could see the outline of his backpack sprawled on the kitchen counter and her first assumption was that he had gone to bed. It was early, however, and Lightning had spent enough time with him to know that he was more of a night-owl than an early sleeper. Curious, she walked over to his bedroom while releasing her hair from the confines of her ponytail and cracked open the door.

She didn't dare flip the light switch on just in case he _was_ sleeping. She let her eyes adjust, letting the moon's filtering glow be her guiding light, but she saw no visible outline of someone sleeping in bed. Even more curious, she turned the light on and it confirmed her suspicion - he wasn't in bed. Or anywhere in his bedroom, as a matter of fact.

"Weird," she murmured under her breath and shrugged. It was possible that he had gone out with some friends, but he usually had the habit of telling her. She turned away and entered her own quarters, well-assured that she was at least alone in the house, and unzipped her uniform, eager to remove the day away from her body.

Today had been agonizingly long. There was nothing particularly special about it, except for the whole thing where her direct superior informed her that in two weeks, she would be shipped off to Pulse, and would return in a handful of months - whatever _that_ meant. It was an order she could not refuse, and Lightning seldom refused orders at all. She was a well-bred soldier and obedient to a fault.

She didn't know if the timing was a blessing in disguise or a full-blown curse from the depths of hell.

The entire day during patrol she was distracted, dazed from everything around her, instead of letting her instincts take over like she should have. She thought about telling her sister, who would not be all that happy about her leaving for a couple of months. It wasn't as if she was headed off to war or anything, although Lightning knew that prowling around Pulse was potentially dangerous and even fatal, but she was assured she would come back safe and sound with all limbs still in tact. She was still more than aggravated at Serah, that was for sure, but the thought of being away from her sister gave her a little ache in her stomach.

Serah _did_ have Snow, she had to admit. Serah didn't need Lightning anymore _because_ of that fact - Snow had proclaimed himself to be her personal hero, her Knight in Shining Armor. Years ago she would have gladly spit in his face for the thought, but she knew Serah was in good hands, even though Snow could sometimes be an over-eager knucklehead.

In short, Serah would be fine, because her husband was a blindingly loyal and overprotective idiot.

Then, of course, there was Hope.

The thought of him made her cringe and she was glad no one was in the room with her to witness it. She slipped the remainder of her uniform off and left the undergarments and started scrounging around for scraps of clothing to use as nightwear.

If the thought of not seeing Serah left a diminutive ache in her belly, then the thought of not seeing Hope while she was away offered an uncomfortable twist in her belly. It was as if butterflies had decided to take flight and then spontaneously combust in her gut. She wasn't sure what that feeling was, and she wasn't going to get into it.

Those were dangerous waters.

"Unacceptable," she hissed to herself quietly and slipped on an old t-shirt, pulling her hair out from underneath it. Serah had opened something of a Pandora's Box with her vehement insistence, and part of Lightning was going to remain angry at her about it for awhile. Lightning had never, _ever_ had a feeling like this, or thoughts, for that matter, and when it was about _Hope_ of all people…

It was as if she was bathed in guilt because of it, along with some droplets of shame. Hope wasn't a teenager anymore. She was fully aware of that, and she wished she _wasn't_. She had always figured she would see Hope as a little brother; he looked up to her like one, after all. From when she had first initially met him, he was forced to grow considerably because of their circumstances and she understood him at a level the rest of the group couldn't - they both had lost their mothers at an incredibly young age, and both were also forced to mature fast. Lightning had grown up because it was her responsibility to take care of Serah, and Hope had to forcefully grow up because he was fighting for the rest of his life.

He was still gentle, though, and still had the boyish smile he had always smiled with her with. He still had the same hair, although grown a bit longer - maybe Snow's length - and the same large green eyes. He physically grew into the man he was becoming and it wasn't the easiest thing to exactly ignore. Lightning was seeing him in ways she wasn't used to seeing many people and, quite frankly, that terrified the living hell out of her.

_Hope._ Of all _people._

She wasn't sure how he would take the news of her leaving for a couple of months. She had already decided to let him stay despite her absence; she still wanted him to continue his schooling here. She wasn't about to kick him out. Lightning contemplated in maybe even suggesting he stay with Serah and Snow if they accepted him - in case he was afraid of getting lonely - but she had an inkling that Hope probably would tear his hair out of his scalp if he had to deal with Snow on a regular basis.

Sighing, Lightning folded her solder uniform and shoved it into her drawers, officially stripped from the day's events. She was almost getting sick of seeing and wearing the same damn thing every day - and Lightning _liked_ routine. It was nice to wear something that wasn't dress-code required, and lately it seemed that the only time she wore something else was when she was in bed.

_Might as well go to bed in them, if that's the case_, she thought sourly. Her bed looked awfully tempting, but it was still early and her lids didn't even try to fight over her eyes. Television was also tempting, but it took her forever to even ever come across something she was interested in, so she just opted to getting some fresh air.

She didn't even bother turning the outdoor lights on; the moon was exceptionally bright and scintillating and the sky was clear. She didn't need it. Lightning pushed the sliding door open and stepped out and immediately tensed when she heard a startled sound, as if she had just scared someone.

And it turns out, indeed, she did.

Hope was outside - sitting by the pool that was scarcely used - with his back to the door. He had jumped when he heard the sliding door open and looked over his shoulder with widened eyes. But it was Lightning, and she looked as equally surprised as he was, so he visibly relaxed.

"Welcome home," he greeted with a smile, before returning his attention to the night sky.

Lightning closed the door behind her. "I was wondering where you were," she admitted in a whisper and walked over, plopping herself down next to him. "The hell are you doing?"

"Trying to connect the stars."

"You know constellations?"

"Not really," he admitted freely and turned to her with a grin. "Honestly, I can never tell what the hell some of the clusters are even supposed to look like. So I make up my own sometimes."

Lightning let out a mildly amused snort, shaking her head. "Fair enough. How was school?"

Hope rolled his shoulders into a small shrug. He kicked his bare foot into the placid waters of the pool. "It's school. Finished that one project, though. Never doing group presentations again if I can avoid it."

That piqued her interest. "Yeah? You mean the one with the girl?" Hope let out a slightly annoyed sigh at the mention of his partner and he nodded. Now she was _very_ interested. He hardly ever mentioned her. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, she was about to find out. "Elaborate."

"She seemed nice at first, but then she just turned out to be mean. And petty. And just… I don't know." He pushed his bangs back with his fingers. "I just didn't like her very much in the end. Anyway, on the bright side, I'm officially no longer undecided."

"About damn time."

She wasn't serious, he knew, but he still gave her a dirty look and shoved against her gently. "History."

"History," Lightning repeated, furrowing her brows.

"Don't give me that look. Not boring, run-of-the-mill Coccoon stuff. I'm talking about Pulse stuff." Hope paused, and then corrected himself, imagining the look of scorn a certain tribeswoman often wore when they had spoken ill of her home. "Eer. _Gran_ Pulse. Clear up the misconceptions, help with the research. And-I don't know. Make everyone else realize that it's not the hell they thought it was." His lips made a melancholic smile and he looked at the reflection of the moon in the water. "I figured it would make them proud, I guess."

_Them_. Of course. They would never forget _them._ Vanille's bouncing strawberry curls and how she could smile during the darkest of times. Fang's cocky smirk, her sarcastic edge, and her funny way of speaking. This was what they wanted and it was their choice, but they still missed them, but it was something they just never really spoke about.

"It would make them very proud," Lightning reassured and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "Hell, I could almost picture Fang pumping her fist in the air and screaming, 'it's about damn time.'"

Hope couldn't help but chuckle at the imagery. The sad thing was, he could picture it perfectly in his mind's eye. Silence settled between them comfortably, their eyes traveling and locking up at the sky.

Then, abruptly, Hope laid his back onto the grass and pulled Lightning down with him.

"The hell-"

"Make up constellations with me," he interrupted with a cheerful tone Lightning wanted to shoot.

"Do I have to?"

Hope snorted and moved an arm behind his head, pointing up to a cluster. "Shut up, it's fun. See those over there?" Lightning gave a reluctant nod, sighing in defeat. "That looks like Sahz's afro."

"That's because that cluster is making a circle."

"Besides the point, Light." He elbowed her lightly, and she elbowed him roughly in retaliation. He pouted. "Use your imagination, will you?"

Lightning grunted. "_Fine."_ She stared at the sky, brows furrowing in concentration, and she scanned the cluster of stars before raising an arm and pointing up to a certain pattern. "There. Those. Gunblade model Enkindler. Shaped like a rapier but-"

"You are the _only_ person I know who can come up with a constellation based off of a _weapon_." Hope couldn't help but interrupt her ludicrous description with a laugh. Lightning gave him a look that implied that she could be potentially offended, so Hope offered a sheepish smile. "Sorry. No offense. It's not a bad thing."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Please don't kill me," he hastily added.

Lightning grumbled.

"It's…cute?" Hope quickly regretted uttering those words, his cheeks feeling as if they were set on fire. "I mean, well, err-"

"I've got something to tell you."

That was abrupt. Hope was praying whatever she had to tell him, it strayed away from the awkwardness that he just bestowed upon himself. But he grew almost a little worried with how serious she looked. Her eyes slanted into a glare at the heavens, and he didn't know why.

She took his silence as a cue to proceed. Her lids closed over her eyes and Lightning took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled. "I've received orders to be sent to Pulse and assist the military with the on-going projects existing there."

The way she had said that sounded so formal, as if she was reporting to another colleague. A simple, "They're sending me off to Pulse" would have sufficed. It took Hope a split second to pick away at the formality and get right down to the core of what she was saying.

"You're leaving?" Stating the obvious was the only way to make sure he had heard her right. When she nodded, still avoiding eye contact with him, Hope immediately sat up and stared down at her in disbelief. "You're serious?" Rhetorical question, but he still couldn't stop himself from blurting it out. "_When_? How _long?_"

"In two weeks, and all they've told me was a few months at best."

_Two weeks._ Two weeks could be there within a blink of an eye.

"But they can keep you there longer, can't they." It wasn't a question.

"Hypothetically speaking, yes," Lightning replied slowly, her eyes finally meeting his. "I'm doing contract signing tomorrow where they specify how long, exactly, but if circumstances require it, they can overrule that."

He could have told her that he didn't want her to go. It would have been the truth. But Lightning was simply a soldier taking orders she couldn't refuse, and he didn't want to seem like he was a clingy, annoying little sidekick that didn't want to let her go.

Even though that's exactly what he felt like.

"You can still stay here, you know." Hope blinked at her. He didn't even think of what would happen to him while she was gone. "If you want to see if you can try staying with Snow and Serah, that's fine, too. But I'd rather have you stay here." Lightning waited for him to say something, but his lips wouldn't move. "That's up to you, though."

He didn't want to stay with Snow and Serah. But he didn't want to stay at the house, either; she wouldn't even be there.

Hope still didn't say anything. Lightning grew aggravated.

"I won't be gone forever, you know."

"I know that," he responded in a whisper, glancing away.

"Then?"

She watched his mouth open to let out a sigh, and he slowly fell back onto the grass again, their arms touching.

"I just wish you didn't have to go."

Whatever aggravation that had festered seemed to have immediately dissolve after he spoke. It made that uncomfortable feeling twist in her gut again; the one where the butterflies fluttered and flapped their paper-like wings, and then randomly exploded in her stomach.

"I don't, either." Her confession was almost unheard; he was lucky the night was void of any background noise. Lightning felt his body shift against her. She curiously peered over and saw him on his side now, facing her, with his head being supported by his hand and his forehead gently touching her temple. It was a type of closeness that had her uneasy; a sort of intimacy she didn't know if she wanted to be comfortable with. But feelings weren't a choice, and that truth was becoming more infuriating than anything.

He would miss her, she knew. She was also wondering why he was having such a difficult time saying it - he didn't have trouble with it the other times distance was forced between them, when they would visit each other for brief moments of time and then depart again.

"You have to make sure to call me at least one a week," he randomly brought up. His eyes were closed as he spoke and Lightning listened. "Make sure you call Serah at least twice or three times, because you know how she can get. And-and-at least tell us if you can't get in contact with us in advance. I might freak out and do something stupid."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "Like?"

"I don't know. Follow you to Pulse?"

His eyes opened to look at her, and Lightning's expression was essentially unreadable. "Pfft, you wouldn't even know how to get past the military, genius."

The corner of his lips twitched into a smirk and he challenged her by the quirk of an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Do you remember who I was with, exactly, all the times we slipped under their noses?"

That someone was her.

He had a point.

"You're ridiculous," she retorted icily.

"I learned from the best. And I bet I still can remember my way around Pulse, too."

He looked both arrogant and serious. Lightning wanted to slap both from his face. "Don't do that."

"All you have to do is make sure we're notified, and then you won't see me or anyone else on the news," he responded light-heartedly. The smirk still remained.

Lightning was genuinely surprised at what a mischievous, cocky little pain in the ass he learned to be. It made it a little easier, though - she didn't know how she would have responded if her telling him would have turned out more emotional than she could handle. In response to his aggravating smirk, she offered one of her own, playfully jabbing him in the chin with her fist.

Eventually, the smirks vanished and they continued laying there, arm against arm, staring up at the sky. Nothing was said. Maybe she would tell him that she was going to miss him, and maybe he would tell her the same thing - but that time wasn't now. But even though neither of them said it, he knew he would end up missing her, just like she knew that she would end up missing him more than she liked to admit.


End file.
